Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $27.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $24.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.73% from the stock’s current price.

GPK has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.37.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $26.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.54. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $23.47 and a one year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth $2,292,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 408,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,069,000 after acquiring an additional 89,339 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 48,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 20,604 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth about $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.