Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

GPK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,777,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,718,982. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.03. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 18.9% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,873,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $311,193,000 after buying an additional 1,889,525 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,951,542 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $220,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,410 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,962,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $196,271,000 after purchasing an additional 431,818 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,259,000 after purchasing an additional 328,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,079,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $119,050,000 after purchasing an additional 29,189 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.