Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) & The Competition Financial Comparison

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is one of 70 public companies in the “Containers & Packaging” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Packaging Corporation of America to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Packaging Corporation of America and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Packaging Corporation of America	7.40%	19.63%	8.36%
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	-20.64%	5.08%	1.60%

Dividends

Packaging Corporation of America pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Packaging Corporation of America pays out 73.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.0% and pay out -78.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Packaging Corporation of America lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.8% of Packaging Corporation of America shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Packaging Corporation of America shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Packaging Corporation of America and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Packaging Corporation of America	0	3	6	1	2.80
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	401	2389	3470	86	2.51

Packaging Corporation of America currently has a consensus price target of $275.43, indicating a potential upside of 10.46%. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies have a potential upside of 40.64%. Given Packaging Corporation of America’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Packaging Corporation of America has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Risk and Volatility

Packaging Corporation of America has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Packaging Corporation of America’s competitors have a beta of 0.75, meaning that their average stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Packaging Corporation of America and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Packaging Corporation of America	$8.99 billion	$774.10 million	30.71
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	$6.10 billion	$213.74 million	12.14

Packaging Corporation of America has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Packaging Corporation of America is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Packaging Corporation of America beats its competitors on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on transportation assets, such as rail cars, and trucks. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, IL.