Citigroup Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK)

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by stock analysts at Citigroup in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $30.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $33.00. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.25% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.03.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE GPK opened at $26.49 on Monday. Graphic Packaging has a 12-month low of $23.47 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its 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 firm 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 business’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth about $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. 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.