Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

PKG has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $244.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.48. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $151.74 and a fifty-two week high of $248.62.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $632,654,000 after buying an additional 98,223 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,920,000 after buying an additional 41,903 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,896,000 after acquiring an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $274,421,000 after acquiring an additional 477,487 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.