Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $280.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $215.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.37% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 target price (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

PKG stock opened at $232.61 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $159.57 and a 1-year high of $250.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $234.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.89. The company has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 8.9% during the second quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 54,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,956,000 after acquiring an additional 4,457 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 16.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. Finally, Hyman Charles D boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 46,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 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.