Graphic Packaging's (GPK) "Underweight" Rating Reiterated at Wells Fargo & Company

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underweight" rating reissued by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $21.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would indicate a potential downside of 26.75% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on GPK. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.22.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE:GPK traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,757,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,962,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.84. 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 has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $29.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.21.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,420 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.8% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 10,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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.