Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• The analysts covering Graphic Packaging Holding Company consensus recommend a "Hold" rating, with an average twelve-month target price of $23.00.
• Key insiders, including Director Philip R. Martens and EVP Joseph P. Yost, sold significant shares recently, indicating a decrease in their positions by over 10% each.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.42 EPS, beating estimates, with a revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter.

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $25.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at $5,798,212.16. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,752 shares of company stock worth $2,073,663 in the last ninety days. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 130.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1,356.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $17.38 on Tuesday. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $16.94 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.94. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio 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.

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