Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $238.67.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,438 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 794.6% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $698,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG traded down $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,101,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,212. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week high of $250.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.61.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Packaging Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.28%.

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.