Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Stock Rating Upgraded by 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 note published on Saturday.

Separately, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

KRT traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 131,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,484. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.19. The stock has a market cap of $537.74 million, a P/E ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 1.19. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $33.89.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.72%. Karat Packaging's payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Karat Packaging news, CEO Alan Yu sold 750,000 shares of Karat Packaging stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $20,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,203,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $167,502,735. This trade represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 66.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 4,151.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 773.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,590 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Karat Packaging by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,262 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the first quarter worth $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company's stock.

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.