Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $259.00 and last traded at $256.6560, with a volume of 18113 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $257.43.

Key Stories Impacting Packaging Corporation of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target from $271 to $292 and upgraded its view to “buy.” The new target implies approximately 13.4% upside from the referenced share price, making this the clearest bullish catalyst for PKG. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its Q2 2028 EPS estimate to $3.73 from $3.48 and its FY2028 forecast to $14.56 from $13.99. The upgrades suggest analysts see improved longer-term earnings potential for the packaging manufacturer, supporting the investment case. MarketBeat PKG analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Packaging Corporation of America recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.35 versus the $2.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $2.49 billion. However, the stock’s valuation remains elevated at roughly 33 times earnings, which could limit gains if earnings growth slows.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $2.91 from $3.07 and trimmed its FY2026 forecast to $10.40 from $10.42. The modest near-term reductions indicate some pressure on expected results, although the Q3 estimate matches the company’s guidance and the longer-term forecasts were raised. MarketBeat PKG earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: President Thomas Hassfurther sold 7,063 shares for approximately $1.79 million. The transaction reduced his direct ownership by 3.36% and may concern investors, though he continues to hold roughly 202,891 shares. InsiderTrades report on the executive sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $241.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.57.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.51 and its 200 day moving average is $226.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Packaging Corporation of America

In other news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 7,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $1,794,002.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 202,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,534,314. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total value of $2,011,463.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 37,657 shares of company stock worth $9,199,044 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter valued at $1,837,506,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $748,095,000. Atlas FRM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter worth about $365,164,100,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth about $237,649,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 893,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,607,000 after buying an additional 888,936 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.