Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Update

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,810,000 shares, an increase of 17.8% from the February 29th total of 11,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 870.7% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.22.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.18. The stock had a trading volume of 2,342,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,904,885. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $29.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.35 and a 200 day moving average of $24.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is 17.02%.

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.