Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $227.37. 1,514,240 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 890,637. The company has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.80. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $189.03 and a fifty-two week high of $249.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.17.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Packaging Corporation of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is currently 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 that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,792,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $575,987,000 after buying an additional 453,319 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,664,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,719,000 after purchasing an additional 353,095 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 56.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 888,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $167,412,000 after purchasing an additional 320,418 shares during the period. Atlas FRM LLC raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 44.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlas FRM LLC now owns 990,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $204,168,000 after purchasing an additional 305,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter worth about $61,010,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $246.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $246.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.14.

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.