Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Earns Neutral Rating from Citigroup

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Citigroup in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $30.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $33.00. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.04% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.37.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $26.54 on Monday. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $23.47 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.54.

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

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the 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 owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 29.0% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 1,153 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.