Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $30.70 and last traded at $30.69, with a volume of 884214 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.87.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 32,827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 17,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 54,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 16,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 42,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.