Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives $32.37 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.37.

Several analysts have recently commented on GPK shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $27.31 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.63. The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

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.