Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $68.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Sonoco Products traded as high as $58.54 and last traded at $58.2750, with a volume of 819376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.32.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.78.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider James A. Harrell III acquired 6,753 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.37 per share, with a total value of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 10,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $507,225.90. This represents a 203.59% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SON. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 477.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $257,561,000 after acquiring an additional 4,880,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $194,733,000 after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,931,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $212,632,000 after purchasing an additional 32,810 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 19.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,312,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $179,181,000 after purchasing an additional 528,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 357.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,576 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 3.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.34%.

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.