Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Monday, September 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, Bank of America raised their price target on Karat Packaging from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.00.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

Shares of KRT opened at $33.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $668.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.79. Karat Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.61 and a twelve month high of $56.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.31.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $134.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.33 million. Karat Packaging had a return on equity of 28.67% and a net margin of 9.39%. As a group, analysts predict that Karat Packaging will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KRT. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased 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 during the period. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $1,106,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $19,840,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Karat Packaging by 199.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 61,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 40,830 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth about $5,337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 25.20% of the company’s stock.

More Karat Packaging News

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

About Karat Packaging

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.