Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

GPK has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an underweight rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.43.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $25.28 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $29.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.71. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.85.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,681,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,540,000 after purchasing an additional 628,663 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,983,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055,359 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,951,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,410 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,962,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,271,000 after purchasing an additional 431,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,128,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,832,000 after acquiring an additional 241,245 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, produces, and sells consumer packaging products to brands in food, beverage, foodservice, household, and other consumer products. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging.