Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price Target Lowered at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered Graphic Packaging’s price target from $13 to $9 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying only 1.87% upside from the stock’s $8.84 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has one Buy, eight Hold, and three Sell ratings, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.01.
• Graphic Packaging exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.14 versus the $0.12 consensus, but revenue declined 0.7% year over year; institutional investors own nearly all of the company’s shares at 99.67%.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Citigroup from $13.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.87% from the stock's current price.

GPK has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $12.50 to $11.50 in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $11.01.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,127,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,482,993. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $8.78 and a 1 year high of $19.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPK. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $440,345,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 67.5% during 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 buying an additional 5,163,806 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $88,094,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $54,031,000. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 66.3% during the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 3,451,510 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,980,000 after buying an additional 1,376,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company NYSE: GPK is a provider of fiber-based packaging solutions for consumer products companies. Through its Graphic Packaging International subsidiary, the company designs and manufactures paperboard cartons, cups, trays and other packaging products used to package food, beverages and household and personal-care products.

The company also supplies packaging machinery and integrated packaging systems, including equipment used to form, fill and seal cartons and cups.

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