Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives $28.22 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.22.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPK. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth $519,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth $184,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,105,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,709,000 after purchasing an additional 377,055 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $29.09 on Monday. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $29.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.02%.

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.