Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Packaging Corporation of America updated its Q3 2026 earnings guidance to $2.910 per share, which is slightly below the analyst consensus estimate of $2.970.
• The company recently posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $2.35 EPS versus the $2.31 consensus estimate, and it also raised its quarterly dividend from $1.25 to $1.50 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: analysts have issued several price target increases, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $256.14.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 2.910-2.910 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.970. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $246.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.14.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $227.37. 1,514,240 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 890,637. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $189.03 and a fifty-two week high of $249.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $226.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.80.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.99%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,811,258.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 538.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 43.6% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 17.0% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

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.

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