UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its price objective lowered by analysts at UBS Group from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.82% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GPK. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.63.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $16.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.75 and a 200-day moving average of $21.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $14.90 and a twelve month high of $30.49.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,094 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 103,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 7,291 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 24.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 271,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,305,000 after purchasing an additional 54,088 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 34,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 9,085 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by 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.