Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock traded down $2.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $194.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,534,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,210. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $214.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. As a group, research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 2.6% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter worth approximately $916,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,979,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,945,000 after buying an additional 22,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trustmark National Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $277,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Co. 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.