Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 28,143 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the previous session’s volume of 34,453 shares.The stock last traded at $30.77 and had previously closed at $31.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KRT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair lowered shares of Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.10. The stock has a market cap of $629.03 million, a P/E ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 1.08.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.04). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 6.78%. The company had revenue of $112.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Karat Packaging by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 4.2% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

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.