Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $233.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,175,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares during the period. Conning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $32,329,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after buying an additional 142,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $209.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $163.68 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $229.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.99%.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.