Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $169.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on PKG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,429 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,263 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG traded down $2.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $187.82. 429,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,470. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.93 and a 200-day moving average of $166.19. The stock has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.30. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Packaging Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.96%.

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.