Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $280.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $215.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 23.10% from the stock’s current price.

PKG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE PKG opened at $227.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. 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 has a 12-month low of $159.57 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.14.

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

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.