What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for PKG Q1 Earnings?

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) – Research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Packaging Co. of America in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 21st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings of $2.36 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.35. The consensus estimate for Packaging Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $9.08 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Packaging Co. of America’s Q2 2025 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.13 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.74 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.24 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $12.08 EPS.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PKG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $239.11 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $235.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.79. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week high of $250.82.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

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.