Brokerages Set Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Price Target at $28.53

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.40.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GPK shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 836,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,715,000 after buying an additional 68,956 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 17,183 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $21.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.98 and its 200-day moving average is $25.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.