Citigroup Cuts Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Price Target to $30.00

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its price target trimmed by Citigroup from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an underweight rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $28.74.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $26.54 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.74. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company’s revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 valued at $282,540,000 after purchasing an additional 628,663 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,055,359 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,134,410 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 431,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,128,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,832,000 after acquiring an additional 241,245 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Graphic Packaging

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.