North Star Investment Management Corp. Has $2.71 Million Stock Holdings in Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT

North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 59.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,000 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Karat Packaging were worth $2,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,216,000. KTF Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $5,075,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Karat Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,039,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,312,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $2,398,000. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair upgraded Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research lowered Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America set a $24.00 target price on Karat Packaging and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Karat Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.50.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of KRT opened at $31.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $633.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.90. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.61 and a 12 month high of $31.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 19.87%. The firm had revenue of $116.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.98 million. Research analysts forecast that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 113.92%.

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.