Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $221.60.

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 target price (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective 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.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PKG. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,246 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 446.5% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 4,934 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 70,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $146,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $244.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $223.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.48. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $151.74 and a 12 month high of $248.62.

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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

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.