Q4 2024 EPS Estimates for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Lifted by Zacks Research

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings of $2.05 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.04. The consensus estimate for Packaging Co. of America’s current full-year earnings is $8.18 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Packaging Co. of America’s FY2025 earnings at $8.57 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $2.33 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.50.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $187.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.19. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $122.20 and a twelve month high of $191.27. The company has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.30. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,047,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,880,777,000 after acquiring an additional 161,559 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,048,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,256,164,000 after acquiring an additional 151,624 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,607,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $645,404,000 after acquiring an additional 663,047 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,210,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $360,031,000 after acquiring an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,186,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $335,772,000 after acquiring an additional 11,536 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.