Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives $28.44 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.44.

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPK. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $27.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 19,311 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 10,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 996,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,196,000 after acquiring an additional 12,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Group LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 16.3% in the third quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 150,278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 21,078 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.