Brokerages Set Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Price Target at $31.53

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.53.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPK opened at $27.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $28.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.57. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $23.47 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth about $73,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the second quarter worth about $88,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.