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

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $33.54 on Friday. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.61 and a fifty-two week high of $56.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a market capitalization of $668.52 million, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.53 and a 200 day moving average of $36.31.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.17). Karat Packaging had a net margin of 9.39% and a return on equity of 28.67%. The business had revenue of $134.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KRT. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 35.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 185,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,725,000 after purchasing an additional 48,906 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Karat Packaging in the second quarter worth $1,106,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the second quarter valued at $19,840,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Karat Packaging by 199.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 61,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 40,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the second quarter valued at $5,337,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Karat Packaging

Here are the key news stories impacting Karat Packaging this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Karat said its pipeline continued to strengthen and reported topline growth; new accounts and supply-chain initiatives may support future performance, though margin pressures remain. Karat Packaging Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.24, below the cited consensus estimate of $0.41, while revenue of $134.74 million missed the $140.33 million estimate. EPS was also down from $0.37 a year earlier. Q3 earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 revenue guidance of $509.8 million–$519.2 million came in below the $524.7 million consensus. Fourth-quarter guidance of $126.0 million–$128.3 million was likewise below the $131.3 million forecast, reinforcing concerns about near-term growth. Q3 deep dive

Karat Packaging Company Profile

Karat Packaging Inc is a foodservice packaging company that manufactures and distributes disposable products for restaurants, cafés, convenience stores, supermarkets, institutional foodservice providers and other businesses. The company is headquartered in Chino, California, and serves customers primarily across North America through its distribution and manufacturing operations.

Its product portfolio includes paper and plastic cups, food containers, lids, cutlery, straws, gloves, napkins, bags and other supplies used for food preparation, packaging and takeout service.