Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 25,147 Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 25,147 shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company in Q1, valued at approximately $653,000.
• The company authorized a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that shares are undervalued.
• Graphic Packaging reported Q2 earnings of $0.42 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $2.20 billion.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 25,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPK. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,121 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 82,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 8,911 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 134.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 10,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.90. 2,597,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,707,934. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.73. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.05 and its 200 day moving average is $24.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on GPK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graphic Packaging 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.