Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

PKG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $262.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $214.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.67.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

PKG stock opened at $202.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $201.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.79. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12-month low of $172.71 and a 12-month high of $242.68.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.10). Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 19.2% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 48.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 42,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,330,000 after acquiring an additional 13,807 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,363,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,219 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 3,944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.