Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Short Interest Update

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 279,601 shares, a growth of 59.4% from the May 14th total of 175,403 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 125,943 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KRT. Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America set a $24.00 price target on shares of Karat Packaging and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Karat Packaging has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.50.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Karat Packaging stock traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $30.04. 46,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,334. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $599.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.85.

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

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 113.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 28,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 921.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 30,855 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 41.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 3,999 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 3.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 22,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.