Can Packaging Corp. of America Meet These Numbers?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Packaging Corp. of America (NYS: PKG) is expected to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 15. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Packaging Corp. of America's revenues will expand 7.1% and EPS will expand 27.9%.

The average estimate for revenue is $718.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.55.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Packaging Corp. of America notched revenue of $712.5 million. GAAP reported sales were 7.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $665.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.49. GAAP EPS of $0.46 for Q2 were 18% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.39 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 22.2%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 11.8%, 160 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 6.3%, 40 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $2.81 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.03.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 180 members out of 195 rating the stock outperform, and 15 members rating it underperform. Among 57 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 55 give Packaging Corp. of America a green thumbs-up, and two give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Packaging Corp. of America is outperform, with an average price target of $32.27.

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The article Can Packaging Corp. of America Meet These Numbers? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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