Citigroup Boosts Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Price Target to $241.00

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Packaging Corporation of America to $241 from $229, while keeping a neutral rating. The new target implies about 6% upside from the current share price.
• The stock was trading up about 1.2% to $227.25, and analyst sentiment overall remains positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $253.
• Packaging Corporation of America recently reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share, beating estimates, though revenue came in slightly below expectations. The company also saw notable insider selling, including a sale by CEO Mark W. Kowlzan.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Citigroup from $229.00 to $241.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Citigroup's price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.05% from the company's current price.

PKG has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $246.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $246.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $258.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock traded up $2.79 on Thursday, hitting $227.25. The stock had a trading volume of 140,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,862. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Packaging Corporation of America has a one year low of $189.03 and a one year high of $249.51. The stock has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $224.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.81.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Corporation of America news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total value of $2,011,463.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 165 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

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.

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