Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Short Interest Down 16.1% in February

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PKG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,966,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $197.43 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $216.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.77. 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 has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

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.