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

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $233.00.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PKG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial reiterated 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,571,821,000 after purchasing an additional 133,575 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after buying an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $691,138,000 after buying an additional 132,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,540,000 after buying an additional 29,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,853,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,187,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $198.62 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $212.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.43. The firm has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.