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

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.37.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $27.99 on Friday. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $23.47 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.55. 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 (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.