Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.87.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $30.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $30.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.13.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third 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 during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. 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.