Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on PKG shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Karen E. Gowland acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $182.06 per share, for a total transaction of $54,618.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $166,766.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hyman Charles D lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $548,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, American National Bank raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 116.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG opened at $194.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.13. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $143.82 and a twelve month high of $199.00.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.39%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

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.