Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PKG. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $212.54 on Thursday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $165.20 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $226.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.50.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 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 Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value 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 approximately $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,366,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,194,000 after purchasing an additional 35,614 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,945,000 after acquiring an additional 22,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after acquiring an additional 27,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.