Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PKG. Truist Financial upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 1.0 %

PKG stock opened at $203.81 on Tuesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $143.82 and a 52 week high of $204.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,012,794.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Packaging Co. of America news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,920,000 after acquiring an additional 41,903 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,210,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,031,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after purchasing an additional 477,487 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,182,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,689,000 after purchasing an additional 27,974 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after purchasing an additional 86,005 shares during the last quarter. 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.