Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $269.00 to $271.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Packaging Corporation of America traded as high as $251.91 and last traded at $246.8870, with a volume of 634820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.90.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $246.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.43.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Corporation of America

In other Packaging Corporation of America news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total value of $2,011,463.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Corporation of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Packaging Corporation of America in the 4th quarter worth $237,649,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% during 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 983,216 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $202,769,000 after buying an additional 492,410 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 25.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,323,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,990,000 after buying an additional 467,590 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 8.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $227.44 and its 200-day moving average is $222.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.25%.The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Packaging Corporation of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is currently 77.92%.

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.