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

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of PKG opened at $228.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $235.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.48. The stock has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. Packaging Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,272,000 after purchasing an additional 249,483 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after buying an additional 155,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,739,000 after buying an additional 142,400 shares during the last quarter. 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.