Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04), Briefing.com reports. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The company 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 business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Graphic Packaging updated its FY24 guidance to $2.49-2.61 EPS.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.48. 1,741,659 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,531,722. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Graphic Packaging has a 52-week low of $21.08 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPK shares. Truist Financial downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.53.

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.