Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Update

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,780,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the December 15th total of 20,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.37.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 268.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 37,358 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $928,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,957,000 after acquiring an additional 787,266 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 707,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,949,000 after acquiring an additional 136,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 26.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $27.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,789,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,368. The stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.85. 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 has a twelve month low of $23.47 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.55.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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

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.