Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Receives $26.88 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.88.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.7%

NYSE:GPK opened at $21.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.71. Graphic Packaging has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.74. 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 (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 4.1% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.