Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

PKG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $238.10 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $21.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $233.62 and its 200-day moving average is $208.94.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released 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. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 130,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,736,000 after buying an additional 5,339 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $836,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.