Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.44.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, April 1st.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $27.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $29.50. The company has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.84.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,817,132 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,359 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,084,404 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,281,000 after purchasing an additional 169,395 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,817,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $129,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,904 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at about $883,000. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,380,000. Institutional investors 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.