Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Price

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $253.00 to $236.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PKG. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $214.22 on Thursday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $234.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.01.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 66.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 95.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 521 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.0% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

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.