Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,228,241 shares, an increase of 35.1% from the February 26th total of 3,870,864 shares. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 943,035 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the sale, the president owned 197,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,422,791. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 538.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 5,316 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 43.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 4.4% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock traded down $3.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $208.99. 709,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,100,997. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.17. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $172.71 and a 1-year high of $249.51. The company has a market cap of $18.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.24.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.41 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.47 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is 58.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PKG. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $233.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.00.

About Packaging Corporation of America

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.