Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Short Interest Up 11.4% in November

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,080,000 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the November 15th total of 15,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.53.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.2 %

GPK traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $29.37. 1,398,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,517,854. The stock's fifty day moving average is $29.22 and its 200-day moving average is $28.57. Graphic Packaging has a 12 month low of $23.47 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 32,827 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 38,064 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 17,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 54,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.6% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC now owns 16,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.