Short Interest in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Increases By 5.3%

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,800 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 88,100 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Karat Packaging Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:KRT traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $25.99. 4,996 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,881. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Karat Packaging has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $30.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.82 and its 200-day moving average is $27.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.03.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.03 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 6.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.39%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 94.59%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the second quarter worth $52,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $115,000. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 4.4% in 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. 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.