Sonoco Products (SON) Lifted to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $49.00. Barclays’ target price suggests a potential upside of 2.52% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Sonoco Products from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 6th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Zacks Investment Research cut Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 19th. Jefferies Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Sonoco Products (NYSE SON) traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,246,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $47.10 and a 52 week high of $55.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5,340.81, a PE ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.15.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 5.63%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, VP Marcy J. Thompson sold 565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $28,815.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Barry L. Saunders sold 5,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total value of $295,741.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,167,237.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,937 shares of company stock valued at $363,088. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,545,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $490,835,000 after acquiring an additional 29,532 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Sonoco Products by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,544,078 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,491,000 after acquiring an additional 77,004 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Sonoco Products by 7.4% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,662,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $188,346,000 after acquiring an additional 251,027 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Sonoco Products by 15.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,579,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,132,000 after acquiring an additional 349,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Sonoco Products by 1.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,363,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,811,000 after acquiring an additional 13,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.27% of the company’s stock.

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Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company is engaged in manufacturing of industrial and consumer packaging products, and providing packaging services. The Company operates in four segments: Consumer Packaging, Paper and Industrial Converted Products, Display and Packaging, and Protective Solutions. Its Consumer Packaging segment’s products and services include round composite cans, aluminum, steel and peelable membrane easy-open closures for composite and metal cans; plastic bottles, cups and trays, and printed flexible packaging and global brand management.

Analyst Recommendations for Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)