Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.50.

Several research analysts have weighed in on KRT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,037,000 after purchasing an additional 51,179 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Karat Packaging by 3.3% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 330,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,320,000 after purchasing an additional 10,617 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Karat Packaging by 8.1% during the first quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 24,405 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in Karat Packaging by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 314,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,089,000 after buying an additional 114,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,216,000. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KRT opened at $38.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.96 and a 200-day moving average of $27.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $39.10.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 6.61%.The business had revenue of $116.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.98 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.