Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $42.30 and last traded at $42.28, with a volume of 7759 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.09.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 113.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KRT. William Blair upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Karat Packaging to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Karat Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.01 and a 200-day moving average of $29.25. The company has a market capitalization of $917.56 million, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.82.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $1.01. The business had revenue of $136.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.46 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 19.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,337,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $678,000. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at $684,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Karat Packaging by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 24,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 27,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 8,941 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

About Karat Packaging

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.