Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,960,000 shares, a drop of 6.2% from the March 15th total of 13,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares in the company, valued at $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 870.7% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE GPK traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $27.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,959,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,568. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.64. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.44.

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.