Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Share Price Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• Sonoco shares moved above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $51.93 and last quoted at $51.65; the 50-day average was $50.18.
• The company’s latest quarter fell short of expectations: EPS was $1.67 versus $1.74 forecast, revenue was $2.04 billion versus $2.07 billion expected, and revenue declined 4.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but averages to Hold: three analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold, and two Sell, with an average price target of $57.38.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.18 and traded as high as $51.93. Sonoco Products shares last traded at $51.6540, with a volume of 1,991,477 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Sonoco Products from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $69.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $57.38.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company's 50 day moving average price is $50.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.41. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.37.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a positive return on equity of 16.40% and a negative net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -93.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the second quarter worth $657,016,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 32,810 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at about $204,968,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,497,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,979,000 after acquiring an additional 66,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,116,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $60,414,000 after acquiring an additional 12,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company is a global packaging company headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. Founded in 1899 as the Southern Novelty Company, it has developed from a producer of paper cones for the textile industry into a diversified provider of packaging solutions serving consumer, industrial and commercial customers.

The company manufactures a broad range of products, including composite cans and tubes, paperboard packaging, flexible packaging, thermoformed packaging, rigid plastic containers, protective packaging and packaging components.

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