Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price Down 2.9%

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)’s share price traded down 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $26.08 and last traded at $26.09. 145,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 2,674,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.13.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,420 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 26,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 138,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.