Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Karat Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Karat Packaging to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.50.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of KRT stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $34.18. The company had a trading volume of 53,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,981. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $34.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market cap of $682.23 million, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.11.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.02. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.87% and a net margin of 6.61%.The company had revenue of $116.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $112.98 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 8.1% in the first quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 24,405 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 47.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 27,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 8,941 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 69,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Karat Packaging in the 1st quarter worth $437,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Karat Packaging by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 218,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,098,000 after purchasing an additional 17,326 shares during the period. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: KRT) is a U.S.-based provider of premium packaging solutions for consumer goods and industrial products. The company specializes in the design, manufacture and delivery of high-quality litho-laminated folding cartons, tubes and flexible packaging. Karat Packaging operates an integrated production model that combines prepress, printing, converting and finishing capabilities to support the branding and shelf-appeal needs of its customers.

The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including food and beverage, confectionery, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals and promotional packaging.