Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $271.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PKG. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $246.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $254.00 to $253.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $271.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

PKG stock opened at $228.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.94. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1 year low of $191.50 and a 1 year high of $259.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.35.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 7.25%.Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald Shirley sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.71, for a total value of $3,008,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,791,068.10. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas Hassfurther sold 12,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $3,132,750.00. Following the sale, the president owned 218,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,687,750. This trade represents a 5.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,391 shares of company stock worth $10,196,101. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the second quarter worth $1,837,506,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $748,095,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,316,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $683,997,000 after acquiring an additional 231,474 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,420,383 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $497,283,000 after acquiring an additional 16,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,323,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,990,000 after acquiring an additional 467,590 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company produces linerboard, corrugating medium and finished corrugated containers used to package and transport consumer, industrial, food and agricultural products.

PCA also manufactures specialty packaging products, including retail displays, protective packaging and custom-designed corrugated solutions. Through its Paper segment, the company produces and sells uncoated freesheet paper and related specialty papers for commercial printing, office use, converting and other applications.