Short Interest in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Declines By 22.7%

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,400,000 shares, a decline of 22.7% from the January 15th total of 1,810,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 798,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 a consensus price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:PKG traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $212.19. 842,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,707. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $167.60 and a twelve 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $225.81 and a 200 day moving average of $221.86. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America's payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $447,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 233.9% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.