Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Initiates Coverage on Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK)

Stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $9.60 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price indicates a potential downside of 0.88% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial set a $14.00 target price on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $15.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.29.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $9.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.92. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $8.78 and a one year high of $26.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robbert Rietbroek bought 44,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $501,226.96. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,267.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 225,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after acquiring an additional 208,962 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 121.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at $178,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,110,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,726,000 after purchasing an additional 200,746 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 146.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 67,858 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 40,369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.