Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) had its price target hoisted by Truist Financial from $252.00 to $282.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG opened at $226.84 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.12. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $159.57 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 5.6% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 52,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,570,000 after acquiring an additional 2,768 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 26,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,845 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 7,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 97.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 8,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.