Sciencast Management LP Makes New $2.85 Million Investment in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,853,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,175,000. Conning Inc. bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,739,000 after purchasing an additional 142,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $691,138,000 after buying an additional 132,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $194.30 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $250.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.03 and a 200-day moving average of $222.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Packaging Co. of America 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.