Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PKG. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $182.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE PKG opened at $183.77 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.05. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 7.70 and a beta of 0.80. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $122.20 and a 12-month high of $191.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, Director Karen E. Gowland purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $182.06 per share, for a total transaction of $54,618.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 916 shares in the company, valued at $166,766.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Karen E. Gowland acquired 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $182.06 per share, for a total transaction of $54,618.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,766.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.