Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Wall Street sentiment is constructive: Packaging Corporation of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from nine analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $253.
• The company recently topped earnings expectations: PKG reported $2.40 EPS versus the $2.17 estimate, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $2.37 billion, though that slightly missed forecasts.
• Dividend income was boosted: The board increased the quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share from $1.25, implying a $6.00 annualized payout and a yield of about 2.7%.

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $253.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PKG shares. UBS Group raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $232.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $246.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $225.95 on Tuesday. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52-week low of $189.03 and a 52-week high of $249.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.13 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $225.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.26.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.99%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Corporation of America

In other news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total transaction of $2,011,463.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA grew its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 94.1% during the 4th quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 165 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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