StockNews.com Downgrades Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $212.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $159.57 and a 1 year high of $250.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $234.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.19.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Equities analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 66.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 11.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 95.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 3.0% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.