Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $232.40 and last traded at $231.46, with a volume of 2418 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $228.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price target (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.67.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 9.46%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Boston Partners increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $274,421,000 after buying an additional 477,487 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,596,000 after acquiring an additional 262,315 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,272,000 after acquiring an additional 249,483 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,636,000 after purchasing an additional 86,005 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.