Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Lowered to Neutral at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $182.00 price objective on the industrial products company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PKG. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $171.29.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG traded down $4.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $182.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 515,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,864. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.54. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $122.20 and a one year high of $191.27. The company has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America's payout ratio is presently 58.96%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,284 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. Greenfield Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth $211,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,327 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,515 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.