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

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.15.

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $28.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.06 and its 200-day moving average is $28.11.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

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.