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

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.53.

GPK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. This trade represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927,344 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 41.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576,877 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,632,000 after purchasing an additional 706,486 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,054,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,693,000 after purchasing an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $30.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.41. 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 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

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.