Packaging Co. of America’s (PKG) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Truist Financial

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by Truist Financial in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $252.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $242.00. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.75% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on PKG. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG traded down $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $227.54. The company had a trading volume of 203,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,910. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $147.25 and a twelve month high of $231.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $210.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Boston Partners lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after purchasing an additional 477,487 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,596,000 after purchasing an additional 262,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,272,000 after acquiring an additional 249,483 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after purchasing an additional 86,005 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 manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.