Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.1111.

SON has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus raised Sonoco Products to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Paul Joachimczyk acquired 8,058 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.64 per share, for a total transaction of $399,999.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,417,619.12. This represents a 39.31% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James A. Harrell III bought 6,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.37 per share, for a total transaction of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 10,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $507,225.90. This trade represents a 203.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SON. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 44.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 15,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Sonoco Products by 80.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,755,000 after purchasing an additional 92,286 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 14.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 87.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 545,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,754,000 after purchasing an additional 255,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 315.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $55.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.23. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 5.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.39. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $38.65 and a 1 year high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 13.57%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.81 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

About Sonoco Products

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.