Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

PKG has been the subject of several other reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $171.29.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG opened at $182.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $122.20 and a 52-week high of $191.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.77. The company has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at $31,967,034. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.