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

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.44.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $27.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.68. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The firm 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.