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

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decline of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 901,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $198.38. The company had a trading volume of 146,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,726. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $215.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.52. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82. The firm has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PKG. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

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