Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Karat Packaging from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America upgraded Karat Packaging from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.67.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

KRT stock traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.50. 221,442 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 115,346. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $21.25 and a twelve month high of $33.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $452.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.77.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. The business had revenue of $124.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.09 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 18.98%. Karat Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 378.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 58.3% in the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Karat Packaging in the first quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Karat Packaging in the second quarter worth about $259,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand.