Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,800 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 88,100 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Karat Packaging Stock Up 0.2 %

KRT stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $25.99. 4,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,881. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.70. The company has a market cap of $519.15 million, a P/E ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.03. Karat Packaging has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $30.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.03 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 6.90%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.59%.

Institutional Trading of Karat Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KRT. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,677,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $115,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 348,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,976,000 after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 261,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,489,000 after acquiring an additional 27,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

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.