Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,605,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,872. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.16 and a 200 day moving average of $24.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.71. Graphic Packaging has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at $478,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 34,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 35,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 360,673 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,792,000 after purchasing an additional 12,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 217,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,919,000 after purchasing an additional 9,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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.