Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,602,271 shares, a decrease of 17.7% from the December 15th total of 3,162,660 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 771,845 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 771,845 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 105.4% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 40.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PKG shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $222.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Corporation of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.17.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $217.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.04. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a twelve month low of $172.71 and a twelve month high of $242.68.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.10). Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

About Packaging Corporation of America

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.