Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 target price (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock traded down $0.66 on Tuesday, reaching $244.14. The stock had a trading volume of 495,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,673. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $228.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value of $1,921,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,500,905. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 5.5% during the second quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 234,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,809,000 after buying an additional 12,129 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,397 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 10.5% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 35,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 22.7% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,098,000 after buying an additional 6,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.