Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Invests $1.20 Million in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products Company, purchasing 25,432 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million.
• Sonoco Products reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.37, which missed estimates, contributing to a 17.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.91 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, yielding 4.5%, with a payout ratio currently at 37.99%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 25,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 14.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,591,263 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,646,000 after acquiring an additional 450,792 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,655,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 60,746 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.8% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,308,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $109,074,000 after purchasing an additional 206,749 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,401,051 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,186,000 after purchasing an additional 43,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,053,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,769,000 after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.63.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.3%

Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 805,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,962. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.70. Sonoco Products Company has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $56.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.65.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 8.35%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.2 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.99%.

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.