Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.3333.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SON. Argus raised shares of Sonoco Products to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of SON stock opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $38.65 and a twelve month high of $58.44. The stock has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.68 and a 200 day moving average of $51.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 13.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider James A. Harrell III acquired 6,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.37 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Paul Joachimczyk acquired 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.64 per share, with a total value of $399,999.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SON. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 5,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 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.