Strs Ohio Increases Stock Position in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,700 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned 0.09% of Karat Packaging worth $464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Karat Packaging by 167.8% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 31,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 19,800 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 17,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 7,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $27.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.38 million, a P/E ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 1.05. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.43 and a 52 week high of $30.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.81.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $95.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.51 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 8.00% and a return on equity of 22.54%. Research analysts forecast that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Karat Packaging from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up previously from $30.00) on shares of Karat Packaging in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Karat Packaging Profile

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.