William Blair Predicts Lower Earnings for Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc. (NASDAQ:KRT) – Equities research analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Karat Packaging in a research note issued on Thursday, January 2nd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will earn $0.42 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.45. William Blair currently has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Karat Packaging’s current full-year earnings is $1.66 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Karat Packaging’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.80 EPS.

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of 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 Price Performance

Shares of KRT opened at $30.24 on Monday. Karat Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $605.53 million, a PE ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.00 and its 200-day moving average is $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Karat Packaging Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Karat Packaging

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KRT. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 283,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,375,000 after buying an additional 21,383 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,626,000 after buying an additional 24,020 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 170,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,038,000 after buying an additional 4,408 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 121,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after buying an additional 3,397 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Karat Packaging by 37.8% in 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 period. 25.20% of the stock is owned by 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.