Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Price

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $252.00 to $282.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.85% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on PKG. Citigroup upped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG opened at $225.88 on Monday. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $159.57 and a one year high of $250.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $236.06 and a 200 day moving average of $213.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The company 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 firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $632,654,000 after buying an additional 98,223 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,896,000 after acquiring an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,636,000 after acquiring an additional 86,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,846,000 after purchasing an additional 35,827 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.