Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 116,000 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the March 15th total of 102,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 50,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of KRT stock opened at $27.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $544.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.51. Karat Packaging has a 52 week low of $13.01 and a 52 week high of $30.94.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $95.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.51 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.00%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 345,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,595,000 after acquiring an additional 12,723 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 3,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $782,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 7,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on KRT. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

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.