Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from $26.00 to $25.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.17. 4,330,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,590,612. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 21.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 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.