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

StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PKG. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of PKG opened at $204.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.71. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $143.82 and a one year high of $210.11. The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $5,012,794.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,012,794.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,314,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after buying an additional 477,487 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,401,000 after buying an additional 279,059 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,596,000 after acquiring an additional 262,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,272,000 after acquiring an additional 249,483 shares during the period. 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.