Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Price Target Raised to $12.00

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.50 to $12.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on GPK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $11.01.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 2.8%

Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $11.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,040,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,540,982. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 44.88 and a beta of 0.65. Graphic Packaging has a 52 week low of $8.15 and a 52 week high of $16.61.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The industrial products company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 2.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $440,345,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6,288.6% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 8,481,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,308,000 after buying an additional 8,348,907 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the second quarter worth approximately $45,266,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the second quarter worth approximately $43,335,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 323.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,863,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,912,000 after buying an additional 2,187,139 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Graphic Packaging

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, through its subsidiary Graphic Packaging International, develops and manufactures fiber-based packaging products for consumer goods companies. Its offerings include paperboard folding cartons, beverage carriers, cups, foodservice packaging, and other packaging solutions designed for products sold in grocery, foodservice, beverage, and household markets.

The company serves brand owners and manufacturers across a range of end markets, including food, beverage, consumer packaged goods, and foodservice.