Zacks Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for PKG

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for Packaging Corporation of America in a research report issued on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings of $2.65 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.60. Zacks Research 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. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Packaging Corporation of America’s Q4 2026 earnings at $2.71 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.91 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $3.13 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $12.45 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $14.31 EPS.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PKG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $202.15 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.87. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52-week low of $172.71 and a 52-week high of $249.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $226.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is presently 58.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 197,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,422,791. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Packaging Corporation of America in the second quarter worth $225,478,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,902 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $406,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,894 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 70.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,860,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $350,539,000 after purchasing an additional 769,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,309,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $476,270,000 after purchasing an additional 521,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.