William Blair Comments on Karat Packaging FY2026 Earnings

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) – William Blair dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Karat Packaging in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the company will earn $1.96 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.20. William Blair has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Karat Packaging’s current full-year earnings is $1.66 per share.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Karat Packaging from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Karat Packaging Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ KRT opened at $30.24 on Friday. Karat Packaging has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.97. The stock has a market cap of $605.53 million, a P/E ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Karat Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. Karat Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,359,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Karat Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,162,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Karat Packaging by 37.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,460,000 after buying an additional 32,069 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Karat Packaging by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,626,000 after purchasing an additional 24,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Karat Packaging by 186.4% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 34,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 22,365 shares during the last quarter. 25.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Karat Packaging Company 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.