Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $232.40 and last traded at $231.46, with a volume of 2418 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $228.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $213.79 and a 200 day moving average of $195.09.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 9.46%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 446.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,398 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,929,000 after acquiring an additional 59,967 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $530,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,584 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,515 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.