Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $280.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock, up from their previous price objective of $215.00.

PKG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of PKG traded down $3.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $229.22. The company had a trading volume of 990,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,645. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $159.57 and a 52 week high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.02.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Packaging Co. of America's payout ratio is 58.28%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

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.