Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $262.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $200.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.67.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 4.9%

Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $202.89 on Monday. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12 month low of $172.71 and a 12 month high of $242.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $202.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.31.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.10). Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 3.3% in the second quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.9% in the third quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 11.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.8% during the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Corporation 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.