Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Shares Acquired by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,901 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Karat Packaging were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 11.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 29,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 46,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 8,857 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors Inc. now owns 404,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,818 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Karat Packaging in the first quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KRT traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.61. The company had a trading volume of 45,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,907. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.99 and its 200 day moving average is $23.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $571.34 million, a PE ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 1.07. Karat Packaging Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.66 and a twelve month high of $30.94.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.16). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 22.54% and a net margin of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $95.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.51 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. This is a boost from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.07%.

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.