Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $265.00 to $238.00. The stock had previously closed at $186.42, but opened at $179.54. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Packaging Co. of America shares last traded at $186.99, with a volume of 214,662 shares trading hands.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $236.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.40.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,571,821,000 after purchasing an additional 133,575 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $691,138,000 after buying an additional 132,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,540,000 after purchasing an additional 29,427 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,853,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $417,187,000 after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,305,000 after buying an additional 101,755 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.04 and a 200 day moving average of $218.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.10. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.