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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GPK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.53.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.1 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $28.28 on Wednesday. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $21.25 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.39 and its 200-day moving average is $28.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

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

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.