Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $45.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.58. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $44.35 and a one year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 111.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 650.7% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% 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.