Truist Financial Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Truist Financial in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $265.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $282.00. Truist Financial’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PKG traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $214.52. 192,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,632. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $235.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.05. The company has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its 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 net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. Equities research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were 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 owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,831,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 39,704 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,016,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. GEM Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.