Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $237.21, but opened at $222.50. Packaging Corporation of America shares last traded at $219.0750, with a volume of 191,171 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Down 5.9%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $220.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.16. The firm has a market cap of $20.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.88.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.41 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 19.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio is 58.34%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 197,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,422,791. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 4.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Advyzon Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.