Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Short Interest Down 8.0% in December

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 68,700 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the December 15th total of 74,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Karat Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 497.7% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 4.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the third quarter worth $401,000. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KRT opened at $29.58 on Monday. Karat Packaging has a 12-month low of $23.10 and a 12-month high of $33.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.99. The firm has a market cap of $592.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 20th. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on KRT shares. William Blair cut shares of Karat Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

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.