Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Stake in Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new 13,540-share stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.23 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.78% of PKG.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $264.57. UBS, Bank of America and Weiss Ratings recently issued bullish updates.
• PKG reported quarterly EPS of $2.35, exceeding estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $2.49 billion. However, company insiders sold 40,391 shares worth about $10.2 million over the past 90 days.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,540 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,226,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PKG. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,001,000. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the fourth quarter valued at $4,664,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 7.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 73,669 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,634,000 after purchasing an additional 5,355 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 39,145 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,073,000 after purchasing an additional 12,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 71.6% in the first quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,695,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PKG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $246.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $241.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $271.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 7,063 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $1,794,002.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 202,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,534,314. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Shirley sold 12,000 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.71, for a total transaction of $3,008,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,791,068.10. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,391 shares of company stock valued at $10,196,101 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $228.62 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $242.55 and its 200 day moving average is $227.82. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $191.50 and a fifty-two week high of $259.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.94.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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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