Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) Stock Price

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 9.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GPK. Zacks Research cut Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.63.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock opened at $16.41 on Thursday. Graphic Packaging has a 1 year low of $14.90 and a 1 year high of $30.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.21.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.17 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.800-2.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $681,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at $5,798,212.16. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $795,807,000 after purchasing an additional 929,764 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 19.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,022,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $464,011,000 after acquiring an additional 3,533,846 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,138,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $374,550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,681 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,570,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $243,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.