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 nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.15.

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPK. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE GPK opened at $30.11 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.97. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $30.66. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $711,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares in the last quarter. KGH Ltd increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 930,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,375,000 after buying an additional 184,000 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 215,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,646,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

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.