Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.53.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $28.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.19. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $21.25 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPK. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $935,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 43.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 202,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,916,000 after buying an additional 61,102 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 171.7% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 603,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,631,000 after buying an additional 381,112 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 4.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 832,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,907,000 after acquiring an additional 33,691 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 99.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 52,139 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.