Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.37.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK opened at $27.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.55. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This trade represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % 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 Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPK. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 57.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.