Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Down 12.6% in November

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,330,000 shares, a decrease of 12.6% from the October 31st total of 17,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This trade represents a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $605,416,000 after buying an additional 2,294,688 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $437,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927,344 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576,877 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,632,000 after purchasing an additional 706,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,054,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,693,000 after purchasing an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.8 %

GPK traded down $0.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,783,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,538,778. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a PEG ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $22.66 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.46.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Truist Financial lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.53.

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.