Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Short Interest Update

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 901,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on PKG. Citigroup upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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 $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $198.38. The company had a trading volume of 146,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,726. The company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $215.31 and its 200-day moving average is $222.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.99%.

Institutional Trading of Packaging Co. of America

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PKG. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,256,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,108 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,103,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 155.4% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 4,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.