Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

PKG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 9.7 %

PKG traded down $23.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $215.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,497,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,431. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.05. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $159.57 and a twelve month high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. On average, research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,194,000 after purchasing an additional 35,614 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after purchasing an additional 22,397 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after buying an additional 27,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.