Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Sonoco Products “Hold” overall: Eight of 12 analysts recommend holding the stock, while four recommend buying it. The average 12-month price target is $60.78, above the reported $48.79 share price.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company, with BlackRock and Bank of America among the firms that recently established major positions.
• Recent results and income profile were solid: Sonoco exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, earning $1.51 versus the $1.47 consensus, while revenue declined 1.3% year over year. The company pays a $2.16 annualized dividend, yielding about 4.4%.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.78.

Several brokerages recently commented on SON. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America cut shares of Sonoco Products from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Sonoco Products from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $657,016,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,968,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth $54,611,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,793,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 236.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 732,088 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,599,000 after purchasing an additional 514,289 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $48.79 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.95. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $38.65 and a 52 week high of $60.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 8.41%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.34%.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company NYSE: SON is a global packaging company headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. Founded in 1899 as the Southern Novelty Company, Sonoco has developed into a diversified provider of packaging products and services for consumer and industrial markets.

The company produces consumer packaging such as rigid paper and plastic containers, metal cans, flexible packaging, thermoformed packaging, closures, and packaging displays. Its industrial packaging activities include paper tubes and cores, protective packaging, molded foam products, pallets, and other materials used to protect, store, and transport goods.

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