Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Coverage Initiated at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $35.20 target price on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GPK. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an underweight rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $28.74.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $27.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.77. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 32.55%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.