Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives $31.70 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three 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 brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.70.

GPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $26.22 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.29. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $25.13 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $807,340,000 after buying an additional 145,209 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,764 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,562,000 after purchasing an additional 788,066 shares during the period. 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.