Head to Head Survey: Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) vs. Its Peers

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is one of 70 public companies in the “Containers & Packaging” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Packaging Corporation of America to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Packaging Corporation of America and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Packaging Corporation of America	0	3	6	1	2.80
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	401	2393	3471	86	2.51

Packaging Corporation of America currently has a consensus target price of $275.43, suggesting a potential upside of 10.39%. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies have a potential upside of 39.79%. Given Packaging Corporation of America’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Packaging Corporation of America has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Packaging Corporation of America and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Packaging Corporation of America	$8.99 billion	$774.10 million	30.73
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	$6.02 billion	$213.74 million	12.51

Packaging Corporation of America has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Packaging Corporation of America is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Packaging Corporation of America pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Packaging Corporation of America pays out 73.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies pay a dividend yield of 5.0% and pay out -78.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Packaging Corporation of America lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.8% of Packaging Corporation of America shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Packaging Corporation of America shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Packaging Corporation of America and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Packaging Corporation of America	7.40%	19.63%	8.36%
Packaging Corporation of America Competitors	-20.64%	5.08%	1.60%

Volatility & Risk

Packaging Corporation of America has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Packaging Corporation of America’s rivals have a beta of 0.75, indicating that their average stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Packaging Corporation of America beats its rivals on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Packaging Corporation of America

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. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on transportation assets, such as rail cars, and trucks. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, IL.