Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Karat Packaging from buy to hold, adding to a mixed analyst picture for the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, Karat Packaging has a Hold consensus overall, with two Buy ratings, three Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, plus an average target price of $36.50.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.34 versus $0.32 expected and revenue of $116.95 million versus $112.98 million expected.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

KRT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Karat Packaging from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair raised shares of Karat Packaging from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 2.0%

Karat Packaging stock opened at $39.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.15. Karat Packaging has a 1 year low of $20.61 and a 1 year high of $39.56. The stock has a market cap of $788.82 million, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.85.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $116.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.98 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 19.87%. On average, equities analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Karat Packaging by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,798 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 27,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 40,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 188.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. 25.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

Karat Packaging Technologies, Inc NASDAQ: KRT is a U.S.-based provider of premium packaging solutions for consumer goods and industrial products. The company specializes in the design, manufacture and delivery of high-quality litho-laminated folding cartons, tubes and flexible packaging. Karat Packaging operates an integrated production model that combines prepress, printing, converting and finishing capabilities to support the branding and shelf-appeal needs of its customers.

The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including food and beverage, confectionery, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and promotional packaging.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.