Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Argus

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) was upgraded by analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PKG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $273.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

PKG opened at $231.89 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12 month low of $172.71 and a 12 month high of $249.51.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.41 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.18% and a net margin of 8.61%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Packaging Corporation of America

In other news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the transaction, the president owned 197,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,422,791. This trade represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.