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

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 target price (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PKG opened at $239.81 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.00. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $148.50 and a 12-month high of $245.00. The firm has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,211.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 11.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 295.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 8.3% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 14.0% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 1,231 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 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.