Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.17.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPK. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $22.36 on Friday. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.41.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted 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). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 637,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,854,000 after buying an additional 51,451 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,169,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.