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Explosion at Packaging Corporation's (PKG) DeRidder Mill

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Packaging Corporation of America (PKG - Free Report) encountered an explosion at its DeRidder, LA paper mill on Feb 8. The accident resulted in the death of three contract workers. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

This incident involved the annual repair work being performed in the pulp mill area, causing three contractors fatalities. At the time of the incident, the D1 machine was down for its annual outage and the D3 machine was running.

The current assessment indicates that the annual outage work is likely to be delayed by up to one week and then, the mill will resume full operation. Further information will be provided, as appropriate, when available.

Packaging Corporation’s primary concern is the safety and well-being of the people working on its site. The company is now focusing on families of the deceased contractors and investigation of the incident with authorities.

Packaging Corporation anticipates first-quarter 2017 earnings of $1.26 per share. It also estimates higher corrugated products shipments during first-quarter 2017. However, we think that this incident will affect the company’s shipments and in turn earnings.

Shares of Packaging Corporation outperformed the Zacks categorized Containers-Paper/Plastic industry over the past one year. The stock gained 92.9%, more than the industry’s gain of 28.9%, over the same time frame.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Packaging Corporation carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector are ABB Ltd , Altra Industrial Motion Corp. and Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (APOG - Free Report) .

ABB Ltd has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 23.50% in the last four quarters. The company sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Altra Industrial Motion also boasts a Zacks Rank #1 and has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 8.06% for the trailing four quarters. Apogee, another Zacks Rank #1 stock, has an average positive earnings surprise of 13.24% for the past four quarters.

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