StockNews.com Downgrades Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price objective (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PKG opened at $229.99 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $148.50 and a 52-week high of $232.98. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $214.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. Analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.1% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 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.