Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK)

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $35.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $35.20 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $35.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $29.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $711,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472 shares during the period. KGH Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the second quarter. KGH Ltd now owns 930,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,375,000 after purchasing an additional 184,000 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 215,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,298 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 14.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.