Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Karat Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $36.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $727.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.37. Karat Packaging has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $56.06.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $134.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.33 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 30.62%. Equities analysts expect that Karat Packaging will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 79.66%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KRT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth $19,840,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth about $11,129,000. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,307,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 218,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,098,000 after buying an additional 17,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 570.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 208,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,948,000 after buying an additional 177,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc is a foodservice packaging company that manufactures and distributes disposable products for restaurants, cafés, convenience stores, supermarkets, institutional foodservice providers and other businesses. The company is headquartered in Chino, California, and serves customers primarily across North America through its distribution and manufacturing operations.

Its product portfolio includes paper and plastic cups, food containers, lids, cutlery, straws, gloves, napkins, bags and other supplies used for food preparation, packaging and takeout service.