StockNews.com Downgrades Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) to Hold

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $215.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.79. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $143.82 and a twelve month high of $217.69. 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 market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,077,128.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,077,128.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $5,012,794.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after purchasing an additional 477,487 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,401,000 after buying an additional 279,059 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,596,000 after acquiring an additional 262,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,272,000 after acquiring an additional 249,483 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 783,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,659,000 after acquiring an additional 189,401 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.