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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

PKG has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set 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, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG opened at $228.82 on Tuesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $235.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.48.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value of $1,921,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after buying an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $632,654,000 after acquiring an additional 98,223 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,920,000 after acquiring an additional 41,903 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $501,896,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after purchasing an additional 86,005 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.