Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.15.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GPK. Citigroup lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,983,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $291,320,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055,359 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $100,387,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $317,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576,877 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, L1 Capital International Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,039,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of GPK opened at $29.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.43 and its 200-day moving average is $27.81.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Shareholders 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 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

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.