Analysts Set Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) PT at $173.57

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $173.57.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $179.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $122.20 and a fifty-two week high of $191.27. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.64.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at $31,967,034. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total transaction of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,967,034. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,314,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $123,821,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,401,000 after buying an additional 279,059 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,133.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 250,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,850,000 after buying an additional 230,422 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 783,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,659,000 after acquiring an additional 189,401 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.