Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Stock Price Down 6.1% – Here’s Why

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)’s stock price traded down 6.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.41 and last traded at $31.43. 20,153 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 31,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Karat Packaging Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $642.54 million, a PE ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 84,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 43,740 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 35,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 8,837 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Karat Packaging by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 58,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 31,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 773.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.