Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Receives $28.53 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $795,807,000 after purchasing an additional 929,764 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $479,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932,841 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $396,562,000 after purchasing an additional 788,066 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,351,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $268,717,000 after purchasing an additional 781,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,888,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,991,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,581,287. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.05 and its 200-day moving average is $25.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.