Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GPK. Citigroup raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an underweight rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $28.43.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $25.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.66 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.24. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $29.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.38 and its 200-day moving average is $26.71.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given 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 1.56%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 26,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 42,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. 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.