Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Price Target to $9.00

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GPK. Citigroup reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $15.00 price objective on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK opened at $8.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.75 and a 200 day moving average of $15.57. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $8.78 and a fifty-two week high of $26.40.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robbert Rietbroek acquired 44,278 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.32 per share, with a total value of $501,226.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 44,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,226.96. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 282.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,547 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 13,971.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 649.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a leading provider of sustainable paperboard packaging solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed for food, beverage and other consumer goods markets. The company specializes in the manufacture of containerboard, folding cartons and engineered fill materials, as well as beverage packaging systems including paperboard cups, carriers and related components.

Through a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America, Graphic Packaging serves a diverse customer base that includes major consumer packaged goods companies, quick-service restaurants and retail chains.