Short Interest in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Increases By 11.4%

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,080,000 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the November 15th total of 15,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GPK shares. Truist Financial lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $29.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.58. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $23.47 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.