Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.32 and last traded at $31.16, with a volume of 15507 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.45. The stock has a market cap of $618.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.03.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.18%. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KRT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 15.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after buying an additional 24,020 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 71,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 7,911 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 54,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 18,612 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 7.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 26,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 5.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. 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.