Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Downgraded by BNP Paribas to Neutral

BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. BNP Paribas currently has $182.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $171.29.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $180.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $180.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.96. The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.78. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 9.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 58.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 183,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.