Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its target price for Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) from $197.00 to $214.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.67% based on the company's previous close.
• A variety of research analysts have expressed mixed views on PKG, with Jefferies cutting their rating from "buy" to "hold" and Wells Fargo increasing their price objective.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake in Packaging Corporation of America, owning approximately 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $197.00 to $214.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.67% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PKG. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $239.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $213.40.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

PKG traded up $0.49 on Friday, reaching $206.42. The company had a trading volume of 629,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 871,730. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $172.71 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $195.67 and its 200 day moving average is $200.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.28.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 20.36%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PKG. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,771 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 94,194 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,206,000 after acquiring an additional 17,980 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 71,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,985,000 after buying an additional 34,784 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 141,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,003,000 after buying an additional 14,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,355,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Packaging Corporation 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.

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