Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) to Issue $0.52 Quarterly Dividend

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%.

Sonoco Products has raised its dividend by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 31.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $6.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.3%.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $46.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $45.93 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SON shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.