Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Position Lessened by Wasatch Advisors LP

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its stake in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,844 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP’s holdings in Karat Packaging were worth $9,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 103.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of KRT stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.00. 46,646 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,693. Karat Packaging Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.90 and a twelve month high of $30.94. The firm has a market cap of $559.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 3.33.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $95.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.76 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 7.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 94.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KRT. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

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.