Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price Down 4.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) dropped 4.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $10.51 and last traded at $10.4760. Approximately 437,115 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 6,390,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Graphic Packaging from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $13.00 price objective on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $11.14.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 2.25%.Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.650-0.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $440,345,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $84,308,000 after buying an additional 8,348,907 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 503.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,693,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,928,000 after buying an additional 7,253,473 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 12,811,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,948,000 after buying an additional 5,163,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,266,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a leading provider of sustainable paperboard packaging solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed for food, beverage and other consumer goods markets. The company specializes in the manufacture of containerboard, folding cartons and engineered fill materials, as well as beverage packaging systems including paperboard cups, carriers and related components.

Through a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America, Graphic Packaging serves a diverse customer base that includes major consumer packaged goods companies, quick-service restaurants and retail chains.