Graphic Packaging (GPK) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Graphic Packaging (GPK) closed at $22.45, marking a +1.86% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.29%.

Heading into today, shares of the packaging company had lost 0.94% over the past month, outpacing the Industrial Products sector's loss of 2.1% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 0.09% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Graphic Packaging as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.73, up 8.96% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.49 billion, up 1.52% from the year-ago period.

GPK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.84 per share and revenue of $9.8 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +21.89% and +3.83%, respectively.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Graphic Packaging. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Graphic Packaging is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Graphic Packaging's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 7.75. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.76.

We can also see that GPK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.31. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. GPK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.85 as of yesterday's close.

The Containers - Paper and Packaging industry is part of the Industrial Products sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 112, which puts it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow GPK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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