Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Downgraded by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG opened at $210.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.52. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $143.82 and a one year high of $211.90.

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

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,012,794.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.