Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $31.50 and last traded at $31.42, with a volume of 5248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Truist Financial cut Karat Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.91 and a 200-day moving average of $27.57. The firm has a market cap of $631.43 million, a P/E ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 348,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,976,000 after buying an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 95.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 61,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 30,137 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 7.0% during the second quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 20,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

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.