Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Update

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, a decline of 9.3% from the January 31st total of 7,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of GPK opened at $24.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $18.45 and a 1 year high of $24.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.40.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 36.32%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 23.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,907.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,432,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 70.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,911,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $218,669,000 after purchasing an additional 4,493,702 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,690,896 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $171,122,000 after buying an additional 4,111,129 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 16,681.4% in the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 3,220,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,955,000 after buying an additional 3,200,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $64,806,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GPK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.83.

About Graphic Packaging

(Get Rating)

Graphic Packaging Holding Co engages in the provision of paper-based packaging solutions for a variety of products to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. The firm produces folding cartons, kraft paperboard, coated-recycled boxboard and multi-wall bags. It operates through the following business segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, Europe Paperboard Packaging, and Corporate and Other.