Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $20.86 and last traded at $20.97, with a volume of 99563 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPK. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial decreased 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 cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.05.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $795,807,000 after buying an additional 929,764 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $479,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932,841 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 788,066 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 781,509 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $239,888,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.