Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.07 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22. Packaging Co. of America also updated its Q2 2024 guidance to 2.070-2.070 EPS.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.08. 162,797 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,816. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $122.20 and a 12-month high of $191.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $181.56 and its 200-day moving average is $168.02.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Packaging Co. of America from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $173.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction 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 14,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.