Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 2.330-2.330 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 2.520. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PKG. UBS Group lowered their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $234.00 to $226.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $227.00 to $217.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.00.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $215.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $218.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12-month low of $178.30 and a 12-month high of $249.51. The firm has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.90.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.20% and a net margin of 8.04%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is 58.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the business’s 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 directly owned 197,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,422,791. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Packaging Corporation of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat consensus — PKG reported $2.40 EPS (ex-special items) vs. ~$2.17 expected, a surprise that underpinned the stock rally. Packaging Corporation of America Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Pricing power and operational efficiency helped margins and profit growth, supporting investor confidence in near-term cash generation. Packaging Corp posts higher quarterly profit on strong pricing power, operational efficiency
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and valuation checks: several write-ups note the solid quarter but say PKG’s valuation remains full after the share-price uptick — useful for investors weighing entry points. A Look At Packaging Corporation Of America (PKG) Valuation After Its Recent Share Price Uptick
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings/transcript availability — the call and transcripts provide management color on pricing cadence and mix that investors can use to model margin trajectory. Packaging Corp (PKG) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance disappoints — management set Q2 EPS at $2.33, materially below the ~$2.52 consensus, creating near-term downside risk as price benefits are expected to build later (into Q3).
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed and costs/special items noted — Q1 revenue came in a touch under estimates and analysts flagged margin pressure from special items and weaker peer results, tempering the beat. Packaging Corp. Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates on Pricing and Mix
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downward revisions — at least one firm trimmed expectations / price targets after the print and guidance cut, which can cap upside until guidance proves conservative. Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Price

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Corporation of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 201.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 202,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,842,000 after purchasing an additional 135,650 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,079,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,632,000 after purchasing an additional 71,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 113,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,396,000 after purchasing an additional 29,771 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.