Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Up 9.3% in September

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,850,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the August 31st total of 15,420,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,260,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’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 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.74. 2,398,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,534,970. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $30.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

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.