Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $195.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.16. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,571,821,000 after acquiring an additional 133,575 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $691,138,000 after purchasing an additional 132,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,540,000 after purchasing an additional 29,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,853,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,187,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.