Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Separately, Truist Financial raised their target price on Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ KRT traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 70,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,607. Karat Packaging has a 12 month low of $23.00 and a 12 month high of $33.89. The stock has a market cap of $650.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.20.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.14). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 6.78%. The company had revenue of $101.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $102.27 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KRT. Barclays PLC increased its position in Karat Packaging by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 7,911 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $291,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $436,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Karat Packaging by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.