Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target to $56.00

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $56.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

SON has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America upgraded Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.13.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.3%

SON stock opened at $50.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.92. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $38.65 and a 12 month high of $58.44. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.03, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 172.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.