Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Short Interest Update

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 1,370,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 901,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $198.34. 817,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,464. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $215.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.52.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

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.