Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Plans $0.11 Quarterly Dividend

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.11 per share by the industrial products company on Saturday, July 5th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th.

Graphic Packaging has raised its dividend by an average of 10.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Graphic Packaging has a dividend payout ratio of 17.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Graphic Packaging to earn $2.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.1%.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE GPK traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.62. 3,175,577 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,520,934. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.31 and a 200-day moving average of $26.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.12 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Graphic Packaging stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,944 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Graphic Packaging worth $4,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on GPK shares. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

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.