Summit Global Investments Invests $315,000 in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000. Summit Global Investments owned approximately 0.06% of Karat Packaging as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Karat Packaging by 484.5% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 183,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 152,207 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 98,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 47,377 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,937,000. EAM Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,390,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 167.8% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 31,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 19,800 shares during the period. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Karat Packaging Trading Down 0.6 %

KRT opened at $27.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $552.37 million, a PE ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.11 and a 200-day moving average of $25.00. Karat Packaging Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.43 and a twelve month high of $30.94.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.16). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.00%. The company had revenue of $95.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.51 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

Karat Packaging 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.