Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price objective (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $238.10 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $159.57 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $21.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. 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.