Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America cut Graphic Packaging’s price target from $14 to $13 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying roughly 36.8% upside from the reported $9.51 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: MarketBeat lists a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target of $11.26, with nine hold ratings and three sell ratings.
• Graphic Packaging slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, but revenue declined year over year and profitability weakened; institutional investors own 99.67% of the stock.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Bank of America from $14.00 to $13.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 36.77% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on GPK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.70 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Graphic Packaging from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.26.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE GPK traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 829,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,405,825. The business's fifty day moving average price is $11.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.55. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $8.78 and a twelve month high of $21.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.900 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $440,345,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6,288.6% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 8,481,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $84,308,000 after acquiring an additional 8,348,907 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 503.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,693,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,928,000 after purchasing an additional 7,253,473 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 12,811,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $192,948,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the second quarter worth $45,266,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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