Short Interest in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Increases By 18.7%

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the August 31st total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 568,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE PKG traded down $0.30 on Monday, reaching $215.40. The company had a trading volume of 443,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,830. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $202.87 and its 200 day moving average is $189.79. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $143.82 and a 52-week high of $217.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,077,128.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $5,012,794.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PKG. Bank of America increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.50.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.