Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,240,000 shares, a decline of 11.2% from the July 15th total of 18,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.6 %

GPK stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,921,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,515. The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.47 and its 200-day moving average is $27.27.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 102.6% during 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 buying an additional 5,055,359 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $100,387,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576,877 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,951,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,656,000 after buying an additional 1,134,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L1 Capital International Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $16,039,000. 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.