Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.74.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $25.34 on Wednesday. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $29.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.24 and its 200 day moving average is $26.75. The stock has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 7.36%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $821,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $881,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 26,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 138,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.