Analysts Set Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Price Target at $28.53

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.40.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.17. 4,330,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,587,489. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.52.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. Graphic Packaging's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is 21.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $479,962,000 after buying an additional 1,932,841 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $396,562,000 after buying an additional 788,066 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,351,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $268,717,000 after buying an additional 781,509 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,888,000 after buying an additional 8,404,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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.