Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $24.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on GPK. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.53.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,540,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,541,077. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.19. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 347,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,442,000 after buying an additional 43,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 18,458 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently 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.