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 sent to investors on Saturday.

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

Karat Packaging Stock Down 0.9%

KRT traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $26.44. 238,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,951. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $33.89. The company has a market cap of $530.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.25.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $101.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $102.27 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 6.78%. On average, equities analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.81%. Karat Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.00%.

Insider Activity at Karat Packaging

In related news, CEO Alan Yu sold 750,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total value of $20,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,203,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,502,735. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 66.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KRT. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Karat Packaging by 9.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 245,734 shares of the company's stock worth $6,529,000 after acquiring an additional 20,262 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Karat Packaging by 13.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 212,340 shares of the company's stock worth $5,644,000 after acquiring an additional 24,791 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Karat Packaging by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,271 shares of the company's stock worth $5,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Karat Packaging by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 145,946 shares of the company's stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 12,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Karat Packaging by 11.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 89,028 shares of the company's stock worth $2,366,000 after acquiring an additional 9,383 shares in the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

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.