Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $234.4286.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PKG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $233.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,649,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% during the third 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 raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% during the third 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $476,270,000 after purchasing an additional 521,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 100.3% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 983,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,769,000 after purchasing an additional 492,410 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $204.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $224.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.05. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $172.71 and a 1-year high of $249.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.90.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.34%.

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.