Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $236.1667.

PKG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $263.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $222.00 to $233.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $225.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $206.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52-week low of $172.71 and a 52-week high of $241.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.16.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 10.18%.The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Corporation of America

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.