Short Interest in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Grows By 29.5%

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,183,204 shares, a growth of 29.5% from the January 15th total of 2,457,428 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,415,096 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,415,096 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total value of $2,795,734.50. Following the transaction, the president owned 197,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,422,791. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter worth $225,478,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,504,000 after buying an additional 1,047,902 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,894 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 70.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,860,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $350,539,000 after acquiring an additional 769,806 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,309,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $476,270,000 after acquiring an additional 521,352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $240.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $218.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.11. The stock has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52-week low of $172.71 and a 52-week high of $249.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.16.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 8.61%.Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is currently 58.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PKG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.