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

UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $24.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

GPK has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.53.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of GPK stock opened at $22.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.10. Graphic Packaging has a twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. 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) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,807,000 after acquiring an additional 929,764 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $479,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932,841 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $441,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,764 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,562,000 after acquiring an additional 788,066 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,957,000 after acquiring an additional 787,266 shares during the period. 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.