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

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on KRT. William Blair raised shares of Karat Packaging from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Karat Packaging from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Karat Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

NASDAQ KRT opened at $47.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.24. Karat Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $50.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $954.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $1.01. The firm had revenue of $136.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.46 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 30.62%. Analysts anticipate that Karat Packaging will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 107,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 50,178 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,377,000. KTF Investments LLC bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $5,075,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Karat Packaging during the first quarter worth about $437,000. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Karat Packaging by 8.1% during the first quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 325,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 24,405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.