Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook for PKG Q4 Earnings

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) – Zacks Research cut their Q4 2026 EPS estimates for Packaging Corporation of America in a research note issued to investors on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the industrial products company will post earnings per share of $2.69 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.70. The consensus estimate for Packaging Corporation of America’s current full-year earnings is $10.81 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Packaging Corporation of America’s Q1 2027 earnings at $2.87 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.85 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $12.34 EPS and Q1 2028 earnings at $3.20 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $227.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $234.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.57.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of PKG stock opened at $215.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.09. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $249.51.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Packaging Corporation of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the 4th quarter valued at $237,649,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,902 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,894 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 893,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $189,607,000 after purchasing an additional 888,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.