Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on KRT. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Karat Packaging and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of KRT stock opened at $26.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.02. The company has a market cap of $537.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.09. Karat Packaging has a 12-month low of $20.61 and a 12-month high of $32.68.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.06. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.63% and a net margin of 6.73%.The firm had revenue of $115.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.95 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Karat Packaging will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 12.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 477,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,037,000 after buying an additional 51,179 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 330,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,320,000 after buying an additional 10,617 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 322,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,131,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its stake in Karat Packaging by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 314,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,089,000 after acquiring an additional 114,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

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.