Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.37.

GPK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,054,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,693,000 after purchasing an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 3,441,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,545,000 after purchasing an additional 302,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $27.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.63. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

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.