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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PKG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PKG traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.49. 1,240,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 855,439. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $234.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.60.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 93.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,147 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,457 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 24,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.