Pactiv Evergreen (NASDAQ:PTVE) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (NASDAQ:PTVE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $17.62 and last traded at $17.62, with a volume of 317673 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $13.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $14.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $15.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pactiv Evergreen presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.83.

Pactiv Evergreen Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.66 and a 200-day moving average of $12.63.

Pactiv Evergreen (NASDAQ:PTVE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Pactiv Evergreen had a positive return on equity of 14.41% and a negative net margin of 3.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pactiv Evergreen Inc. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pactiv Evergreen Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Pactiv Evergreen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -43.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTVE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Pactiv Evergreen by 70.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 484,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 200,873 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Pactiv Evergreen by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,088,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,535,000 after purchasing an additional 10,158 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Pactiv Evergreen by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 38,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 11,670 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP boosted its stake in Pactiv Evergreen by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 167,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,929,000 after purchasing an additional 22,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Pactiv Evergreen in the third quarter valued at approximately $178,000. 22.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pactiv Evergreen

Pactiv Evergreen Inc manufactures and distributes fresh foodservice and food merchandising products, and fresh beverage cartons in the United States, rest of North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Foodservice, and Food and Beverage Merchandising. The Foodservice segment offers food containers; drinkware, such as hot and cold cups and lids; and tableware, service ware, and other products.