Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of PKG opened at $238.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.62 and a 200 day moving average of $208.74. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $159.57 and a 52-week high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 7.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 195,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,630,000 after purchasing an additional 14,112 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 20.0% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LongView Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.