Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Receives $56.43 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.43.

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,984,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 368.6% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 666,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,555,000 after acquiring an additional 524,198 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,143,000 after buying an additional 442,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after buying an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $41.14 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.15%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 128.48%.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products.