Wall Street Zen Upgrades Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) to “Strong-Buy”

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of KRT opened at $26.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Karat Packaging has a 12 month low of $23.00 and a 12 month high of $33.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.20. The firm has a market cap of $540.07 million, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.19.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Alan Yu sold 750,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $20,250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,203,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,502,735. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 66.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 4,151.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 773.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 107.8% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.