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

Key Points

• Sonoco Products has an average analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from 12 research firms. Seven analysts rate it hold, five rate it buy, and the average 12-month price target is about $60.11.
• The company recently reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $1.20 versus estimates of $1.57 and revenue of $1.68 billion versus $1.88 billion expected. Sonoco also updated FY2026 guidance to 5.8–6.2 EPS.
• Sonoco announced a higher quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, up from $0.53, payable June 10. That implies an annualized dividend of $2.16 and a yield of about 4.5%.

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.1111.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SON shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sonoco Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

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

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 415.0% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 37,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 30,520 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,237.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 22,278 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 202.0% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,053 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 20,771 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 46.2% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 81,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 25,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth $1,556,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $48.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $38.65 and a 1-year high of $58.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.04.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 13.57%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

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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