Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 26,402 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 28,579 shares.The stock last traded at $31.59 and had previously closed at $31.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair cut Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.12. The stock has a market cap of $632.83 million, a PE ratio of 22.58 and a beta of 1.08.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.04). Karat Packaging had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $112.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KRT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after acquiring an additional 24,020 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 2.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 121,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after buying an additional 3,397 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 37.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,460,000 after buying an additional 32,069 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Karat Packaging by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 7,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 54,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 18,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Karat Packaging Company Profile

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.