Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.43.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.2 %

GPK opened at $25.85 on Wednesday. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.72. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 18.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,681,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,540,000 after purchasing an additional 628,663 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,983,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055,359 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,951,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,410 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,962,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,271,000 after purchasing an additional 431,818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,128,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,832,000 after purchasing an additional 241,245 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.