Brokerages Set Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Price Target at $31.50

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.50.

KRT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America set a $24.00 price objective on Karat Packaging and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. William Blair raised Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Karat Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Karat Packaging to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 12.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,037,000 after buying an additional 51,179 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Karat Packaging by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 330,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,320,000 after buying an additional 10,617 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Karat Packaging by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 24,405 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in Karat Packaging by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 314,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,089,000 after acquiring an additional 114,204 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $5,216,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

KRT opened at $34.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $683.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.85. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $34.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.92%.

About Karat Packaging

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.