Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Short Interest Update

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,228,241 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the February 26th total of 3,870,864 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 943,035 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PKG shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Corporation of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:PKG traded down $0.35 on Friday, reaching $212.25. 630,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,188,670. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $225.50 and its 200-day moving average is $213.24. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $172.71 and a 1-year high of $249.51.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 8.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio is 58.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the sale, the president owned 197,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,422,791. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $225,478,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,902 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 worth $406,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,894 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $476,270,000 after purchasing an additional 521,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 100.3% in 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 buying an additional 492,410 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.