Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $232.00 to $235.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.60% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PKG. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.4 %

PKG traded up $0.96 during trading on Monday, hitting $226.84. 767,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,989. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.83. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $159.57 and a 1 year high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth $64,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.