Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.17.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,888,000 after buying an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 920.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,176,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,425,000 after buying an additional 3,767,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $98,268,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 735.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,446,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.35. 247,017 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,834,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.41.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. Graphic Packaging's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.