Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Receives $26.88 Average PT from Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.88.

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPK. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.2%

Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.01. 5,179,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,622. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

About Graphic Packaging

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.