Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Packaging Corporation of America hit a new 52-week high after JPMorgan raised its price target to $271 and kept an overweight rating. The stock jumped as much as 7.7% intraday amid broad analyst optimism.
• The company’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.31 consensus and revenue of $2.49 billion matching estimates. Revenue rose 14.7% year over year, and management also guided Q3 2026 EPS at $2.91.
• PKG recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share from $1.25, implying an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a 2.4% yield. Institutional ownership remains high at 89.78%, while CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold a portion of his holdings in May.

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $269.00 to $271.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Packaging Corporation of America traded as high as $251.91 and last traded at $246.8870, with a volume of 634820 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $233.90.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at $102,811,258.80. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,649,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 893,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $189,607,000 after acquiring an additional 888,936 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,309,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $476,270,000 after acquiring an additional 521,352 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 983,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $202,769,000 after acquiring an additional 492,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 25.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,323,010 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $492,990,000 after purchasing an additional 467,590 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 7.7%

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 has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average price is $226.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.48.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.25%.Packaging Corporation of America's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio is 72.99%.

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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