Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.33.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PKG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $192.80 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $136.54 and a 12 month high of $194.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $183.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.92.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.80% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Karen E. Gowland acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $182.06 per share, with a total value of $54,618.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,766.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $880,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 19,323.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,936,000 after buying an additional 30,145 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 30.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 90,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,168,000 after buying an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,003,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.