Analysts Set Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) PT at $173.57

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $173.57.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PKG. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $180.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $182.43 and its 200 day moving average is $169.78. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. Research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.