Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PKG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.4 %

PKG opened at $238.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $233.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.15. The firm has a market cap of $21.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $159.57 and a twelve month high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after buying an additional 22,397 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 10.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 35,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 3,355 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,772,000 after acquiring an additional 27,018 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 5,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $429,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.