Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

PKG stock traded down $1.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $239.81. The company had a trading volume of 434,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,480. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $219.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.76. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $148.50 and a 1-year high of $245.00.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PKG. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 105.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,410,000 after acquiring an additional 8,117 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $476,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after acquiring an additional 27,018 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $632,654,000 after acquiring an additional 98,223 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.