Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a decline of 19.1% from the October 15th total of 1,520,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 545,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 5.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 41,120 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,857,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 16.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,086 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 205.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 81,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,527,000 after purchasing an additional 54,765 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,070 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,600,000 after buying an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,467,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $252.00 price objective (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

PKG traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $235.81. 579,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,704. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $220.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $148.50 and a 52-week high of $245.00. The company has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.