Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) has received an average rating of "Hold" from nine analysts, with five holding and four buying recommendations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 24.86%.
• Graphic Packaging reported $2.20 billion in revenue and $0.42 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and setting FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.3750.

Several brokerages have commented on GPK. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. Bank of America dropped 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at $738,759.84. This trade represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $681,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 255,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 93,752 shares of company stock worth $2,073,663. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 50,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 21,708 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 221,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 98,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,567,000 after acquiring an additional 18,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 790,496 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,521,000 after acquiring an additional 140,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of GPK traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $20.88. 6,508,007 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,120,865. The company has a market cap of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 0.76. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.65 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $22.35 and its 200-day moving average is $23.63.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

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.