Packaging Corporation of America $PKG Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 6.4% in Q4, owning 492,721 shares (about 0.55% of the company) valued at roughly $101.62 million.
• Packaging Corp. beat Q1 EPS estimates with $2.40 (vs. $2.17) while revenue of $2.37 billion fell short of consensus; it provided Q2 guidance of $2.33 EPS and pays a $1.25 quarterly dividend (≈2.2% yield).
• The stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $234.29, reflecting mixed recent analyst revisions.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 492,721 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,746 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of Packaging Corporation of America worth $101,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.9% in the third quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 11.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PKG. Citigroup lowered their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $227.00 to $217.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday. Argus upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $234.00 to $226.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.29.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $227.31 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.40 and a 200-day moving average of $212.99. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52-week low of $178.32 and a 52-week high of $249.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.81.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.23. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 8.04%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Packaging Corporation of America's payout ratio is currently 60.83%.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

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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