Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Given New $235.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Citigroup from $232.00 to $235.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PKG. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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, StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities research 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 target price of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.4 %

PKG traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $226.84. 767,114 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,989. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $159.57 and a 12-month high of $250.82. 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 50 day moving average of $236.06 and a 200 day moving average of $213.83.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $4,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 8.4% in 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 buying an additional 35,614 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake 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 valued at $6,945,000 after buying an additional 22,397 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 35,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,425,000 after buying an additional 3,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.