Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $238.67.

Several research firms have weighed in on PKG. Citigroup raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 worth $632,654,000 after purchasing an additional 98,223 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,896,000 after buying an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after buying an additional 86,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,846,000 after buying an additional 35,827 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $228.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $236.01 and its 200 day moving average is $214.61. 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.

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 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 firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.