Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

PKG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $219.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $216.66 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $209.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.25. The company has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $143.82 and a 12-month high of $222.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 62.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 $4,077,128.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,077,128.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $5,012,794.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,920,000 after buying an additional 41,903 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $274,421,000 after acquiring an additional 477,487 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after acquiring an additional 86,005 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,596,000 after purchasing an additional 262,315 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 869,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $164,985,000 after purchasing an additional 42,465 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.