Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to "Buy" at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from "hold" to "buy" and raised its target to $256 (from $225), implying roughly a 17.4% upside to the current price.
• Q1 results: PKG reported $2.40 EPS (beat the $2.17 estimate) and $2.37B in revenue (slightly below forecasts), and set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.33 EPS.
• Analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $234.29; the stock trades in a 12‑month range of $178.30–$249.51 and has a market cap of about $19.4B.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $256.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their previous target price of $225.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft's price target indicates a potential upside of 17.40% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $234.00 to $226.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.29.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $218.06 on Monday. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12 month low of $178.30 and a 12 month high of $249.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.75. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.81.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total value of $2,795,734.50. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 197,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,422,791. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,649,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $330,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047,902 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $406,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,894 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 893,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $189,607,000 after purchasing an additional 888,936 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,309,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $476,270,000 after purchasing an additional 521,352 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.