Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Raises Dividend to $0.11 Per Share

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.11 per share by the industrial products company on Saturday, April 5th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10.

Graphic Packaging has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Graphic Packaging has a payout ratio of 15.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Graphic Packaging to earn $2.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.48. 2,728,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,527,352. The firm has a market cap of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.62. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.70.

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.