Truist Financial Boosts Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Price Target to $32.00

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its price objective boosted by Truist Financial from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GPK. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.37.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $26.44 on Monday. Graphic Packaging has a 12-month low of $23.47 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.54. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging 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 owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. 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.