Pactiv Evergreen (NASDAQ:PTVE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Pactiv Evergreen Inc. (NASDAQ:PTVE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.81 and last traded at $17.80, with a volume of 41292 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PTVE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $13.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $15.00) on shares of Pactiv Evergreen in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut Pactiv Evergreen from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.33.

Pactiv Evergreen Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of -19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.28.

Pactiv Evergreen (NASDAQ:PTVE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Pactiv Evergreen had a positive return on equity of 14.41% and a negative net margin of 3.16%. Pactiv Evergreen’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Pactiv Evergreen Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Pactiv Evergreen Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Pactiv Evergreen’s payout ratio is presently -43.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pactiv Evergreen

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTVE. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Pactiv Evergreen by 1,590.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 7,492 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pactiv Evergreen during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Pactiv Evergreen by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 145,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 76,440 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Pactiv Evergreen by 70.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 484,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,579,000 after acquiring an additional 200,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pactiv Evergreen by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,088,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,535,000 after acquiring an additional 10,158 shares during the last quarter. 22.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pactiv Evergreen Company Profile

Pactiv Evergreen Inc manufactures and distributes fresh foodservice and food merchandising products, and fresh beverage cartons in the United States, rest of North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Foodservice, and Food and Beverage Merchandising. The Foodservice segment offers food containers; drinkware, such as hot and cold cups and lids; and tableware, service ware, and other products.