Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Packaging Corporation of America, with six buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $261.57.
• PKG reported quarterly EPS of $2.35, exceeding estimates by $0.04, while revenue reached $2.49 billion, up 14.7% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, equivalent to a $6.00 annual payout and a 2.3% yield; however, insiders have sold more than 30,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $261.5714.

PKG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $241.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $255.98 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $234.93 and its 200 day moving average is $225.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 1.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1 year low of $191.50 and a 1 year high of $258.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.25%.The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Corporation of America

In other Packaging Corporation of America news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total transaction of $2,011,463.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 8,797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total transaction of $2,260,829.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 209,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,958,178. This represents a 4.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,594 shares of company stock valued at $7,405,042. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 94.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

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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