Comerica Bank Buys 2,730 Shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT)

Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 107.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,262 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Karat Packaging were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Karat Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Karat Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $291,000. Institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

Karat Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Karat Packaging stock opened at $31.27 on Friday. Karat Packaging Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.00 and a 52 week high of $33.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 3.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.06. The company has a market capitalization of $627.28 million, a PE ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 1.12.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.14). Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 6.78%. The firm had revenue of $101.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $102.27 million. As a group, analysts expect that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Karat Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 120.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Karat Packaging from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

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.