StockNews.com Lowers Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) to Hold

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

PKG has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PKG traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $204.60. 589,407 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 612,896. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $195.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.12. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $143.82 and a 12-month high of $210.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $241,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $110,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 366.1% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 90,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,746,000 after buying an additional 71,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.