Bailard Inc. Acquires 3,500 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,943 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. owned about 0.08% of Karat Packaging worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 2.0% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 36,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 7.0% during the second quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 20,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $52,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Karat Packaging Price Performance

KRT stock opened at $26.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.86 and a 200-day moving average of $28.02. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $30.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.94 million, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.06.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.11). Karat Packaging had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 21.94%. The firm had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $114.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 94.59%.

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.