Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.37.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $26.49 on Monday. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $23.47 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.54.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. This trade represents a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 32,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 38,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 54,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 42,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.