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

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $252.00 price target (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG stock traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $228.82. 513,134 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 611,091. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week high of $250.82. The stock has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. 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's 50-day moving average is $235.27 and its 200-day moving average is $211.16.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.05 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PKG. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,440,000 after buying an additional 536,389 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $187,596,000 after acquiring an additional 262,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,272,000 after purchasing an additional 249,483 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $44,739,000 after purchasing an additional 142,400 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.