Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $219.00 to $242.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Packaging Co. of America traded as high as $221.35 and last traded at $220.73, with a volume of 24362 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.98.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PKG. Bank of America lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $271,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.