Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Shares Gap Down to $30.11

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $30.11, but opened at $29.16. Graphic Packaging shares last traded at $28.94, with a volume of 383,103 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. 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.