Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Reaches New 52-Week High at $199.88

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $199.88 and last traded at $199.51, with a volume of 61450 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $198.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. BNP Paribas cut Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.39% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, Director Karen E. Gowland purchased 300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $182.06 per share, for a total transaction of $54,618.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,766.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Karen E. Gowland acquired 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $182.06 per share, for a total transaction of $54,618.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,766.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $163,314,000. Boston Partners increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after buying an additional 477,487 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,401,000 after purchasing an additional 279,059 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,133.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 250,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,850,000 after purchasing an additional 230,422 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 783,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,659,000 after purchasing an additional 189,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.