Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wells Fargo & Company

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $246.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Up 0.2%

PKG stock opened at $224.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.97. 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 1-year low of $189.03 and a 1-year high of $249.51. The stock has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 73.5% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 538.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Packaging Corporation of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Packaging Corporation of America to $269 from $246 and kept an overweight rating, suggesting meaningful upside versus the current share price. Packaging Corporation of America had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $246.00 to $269.00.
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup also lifted its price target on PKG to $241 from $229, reinforcing a constructive outlook even though it maintained a neutral rating. Packaging Corporation of America had its price target raised by Citigroup Inc. from $229.00 to $241.00.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its equal weight rating and nudged its target up to $246 from $245, which still signals some room above the current price. Packaging Corporation of America had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by Wells Fargo & Company.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate headline coverage echoed the new targets from Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Wells Fargo, keeping PKG in focus for investors watching analyst sentiment. Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Given New $241.00 Price Target at Citigroup
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo later downgraded Packaging Corporation of America from strong-buy to hold, a more cautious call that may weigh on enthusiasm despite the higher target. Packaging Corporation of America was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• Negative Sentiment: A separate article questioned the stock’s appeal by highlighting “3 reasons to avoid PKG,” which could add some negative sentiment around the name. 3 reasons to avoid PKG and 1 stock to buy instead

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.