Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Shares Up 2.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Graphic Packaging shares rose 2.9% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock from neutral to overweight, though it lowered its price target to $11.50 from $12.50.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, eight Hold, and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $11.40.
• Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company, while Graphic Packaging reported quarterly EPS of $0.14—above estimates—and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 4.5% annualized yield.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $11.50 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $12.50. Graphic Packaging traded as high as $10.08 and last traded at $9.8460. Approximately 1,516,807 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 6,479,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.57.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GPK. Bank of America reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $11.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 12,811,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $192,948,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163,806 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at about $880,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,195,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $93,302,000 after buying an additional 2,111,157 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,913,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,897,000 after acquiring an additional 538,810 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,031,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $10.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.42.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The company's revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, operating through Graphic Packaging International, develops and manufactures fiber-based packaging solutions for consumer packaged goods companies. Its products are used primarily in the food, beverage and household products industries, where packaging is designed to protect products, support branding and improve convenience.

The company's offerings include folding cartons, paperboard packaging, coated recycled board, paper cups and other foodservice packaging products.

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