Packaging Co. of America Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.25 (NYSE:PKG)

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 1.25 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%.

Packaging Co. of America has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.7% per year over the last three years. Packaging Co. of America has a payout ratio of 42.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Packaging Co. of America to earn $11.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.1 %

Packaging Co. of America stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.86. 730,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 920,792. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.43. The company has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial restated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

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.