Karat Packaging Inc. $KRT Stock Bought by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) by 570.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 208,330 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,246 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.05% of Karat Packaging worth $10,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the second quarter worth approximately $19,840,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Karat Packaging during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,129,000. De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,307,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,337,000. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,290,000. 25.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KRT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Karat Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Karat Packaging in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Karat Packaging from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Karat Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

Karat Packaging Price Performance

NASDAQ:KRT traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 377,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,828. The company has a market cap of $669 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.79. Karat Packaging Inc. has a one year low of $20.61 and a one year high of $56.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.35 and its 200-day moving average is $36.59.

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $134.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.33 million. Karat Packaging had a net margin of 9.39% and a return on equity of 28.26%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Karat Packaging Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Karat Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Karat Packaging’s payout ratio is 79.66%.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc. manufactures and distributes disposable foodservice packaging and related products. Its offerings include cups, containers, lids, cutlery, straws, bags, napkins and food-handling supplies for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. The company sells products under brands including Karat and Karat Earth, which features packaging made with materials such as paper and compostable or biodegradable alternatives. Its customers include restaurants, foodservice distributors and other businesses that serve or sell food and beverages.