Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $246.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $153.58 and a 1 year high of $248.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.44.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly 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. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,500,905 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.