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

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.480-2.730 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $2.53-2.78 EPS.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $26.93. 4,710,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,598,269. The stock's fifty day moving average is $27.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.63. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.84.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPK. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.70.

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.