Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $1.74 Million Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $630,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 642.7% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 271,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,192,000 after acquiring an additional 235,211 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,199.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,645,000 after acquiring an additional 43,648 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $453,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PKG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down previously from $205.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $265.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.60.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $193.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.86. The stock has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.85. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $172.72 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 52.30%.

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.