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

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.60.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPK. StockNews.com raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on 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 reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576,877 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,873,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $311,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,632,000 after purchasing an additional 706,486 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,054,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,693,000 after buying an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,079,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,050,000 after buying an additional 29,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $29.79 on Friday. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $30.66. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

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.