Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) PT Lowered to $34.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.60.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 1.1 %

GPK stock opened at $30.10 on Thursday. Graphic Packaging has a 1-year low of $20.07 and a 1-year high of $30.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the second quarter valued at $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.