Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.50.

GPK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Graphic Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 164.6% in the 3rd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,648,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,758,098 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 19.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,022,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $464,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533,846 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,080,000 after buying an additional 2,828,094 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,632,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 104.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,033,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,944,000 after buying an additional 2,062,162 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $15.97 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.64. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $13.93 and a fifty-two week high of $28.62.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.88%.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a leading provider of sustainable paperboard packaging solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed for food, beverage and other consumer goods markets. The company specializes in the manufacture of containerboard, folding cartons and engineered fill materials, as well as beverage packaging systems including paperboard cups, carriers and related components.

Through a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America, Graphic Packaging serves a diverse customer base that includes major consumer packaged goods companies, quick-service restaurants and retail chains.