Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Sonoco Products has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from 12 covering analysts, with seven holds and five buys. The average 12-month price target is about $61.33.
• The company recently posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.20 versus the $1.57 estimate and revenue of $1.68 billion versus the $1.88 billion forecast. Revenue also declined 1.9% year over year.
• Sonoco announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, equal to an annualized payout of $2.16 and a yield of about 3.9%. The dividend is payable on September 10, with an ex-dividend date of August 10.

Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.3333.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SON shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sonoco Products from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sonoco Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $54.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.80. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $38.65 and a 1 year high of $58.44.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.37). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 13.57%.The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other news, CFO Paul Joachimczyk bought 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $49.64 per share, for a total transaction of $399,999.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,417,619.12. The trade was a 39.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James A. Harrell III purchased 6,753 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.37 per share, for a total transaction of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 10,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,225.90. The trade was a 203.59% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 93.1% during the first quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1,826.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company NYSE: SON is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.

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