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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price target (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 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG traded down $1.68 on Tuesday, reaching $239.81. 434,782 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 601,480. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $148.50 and a twelve month high of $245.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $219.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.00.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced 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 19.35%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 295.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,040 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.