Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PKG. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America raised Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $182.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $171.29.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $179.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $122.20 and a 52-week high of $191.27.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 9.81%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.