Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at William Blair

William Blair lowered shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KRT opened at $29.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $597.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.95. Karat Packaging has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.14.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Karat Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KRT. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 497.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 4.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in Karat Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $401,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

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.