Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,162,660 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the November 30th total of 2,452,986 shares. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 853,113 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 853,113 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,204,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,111,452,000 after buying an additional 176,811 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,130,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $905,383,000 after acquiring an additional 33,624 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,351,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $631,557,000 after acquiring an additional 78,619 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 13.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,085,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $672,357,000 after acquiring an additional 370,573 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,954,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $426,016,000 after purchasing an additional 55,784 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:PKG opened at $208.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $203.59. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $172.71 and a fifty-two week high of $242.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.89.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.72% and a net margin of 10.18%.The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PKG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $214.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $262.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.67.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

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.