Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 137,700 shares, a growth of 7.1% from the May 15th total of 128,600 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 42,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of KRT stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.57. The company had a trading volume of 44,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,379. The company has a market capitalization of $570.83 million, a PE ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.47. Karat Packaging has a one year low of $16.90 and a one year high of $30.94.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 21.94% and a net margin of 7.31%. The business had revenue of $95.61 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Karat Packaging will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 94.59%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 484.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,677,000. EAM Investors LLC bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,390,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 93.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 98,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 47,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 95.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 30,137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KRT shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated 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.

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.