Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $233.00.

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on 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.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 1.6 %

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $205.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $250.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 155.4% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 4,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,786,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,786 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.