Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for PKG Earnings

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $3.20 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $3.21. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Packaging Corporation of America’s current full-year earnings is $10.44 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $222.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.17.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $221.75 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.16. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52 week low of $172.71 and a 52 week high of $242.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.88.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.400 EPS.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $568,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 33,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,337,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,072 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

More Packaging Corporation of America News

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised a few quarterly estimates — Q1 2026 to $2.38 from $2.34, Q3 2026 to $3.35 from $3.34, and Q3 2027 to $3.54 from $3.52 — signaling modest upside to some near-term quarters. Zacks Research note
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks left its rating at “Hold” and the consensus for the current full year remains ~ $10.44 EPS; overall revisions are small in magnitude, so the market reaction is muted (volume below average). This suggests limited catalyst from the note unless guidance or macro factors change. Zacks Research note
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed several estimates — Q2 2026 to $2.57 (from $2.67), Q1 2027 to $2.61 (from $2.63), Q2 2027 to $2.91 (from $2.94), Q4 2026 to $2.85 (from $2.86), FY2026 to $11.14 (from $11.22) and FY2027 to $12.26 (from $12.29). These downgrades slightly reduce multi-year EPS expectations and are the main reason investor sentiment is cautious. Zacks Research note

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.