Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19.7% in March to 5,306,907 shares as of March 31, equal to about 5.4% of the float and a short-interest ratio of 5.6 days.
• Institutional activity was heavy—Fuller & Thaler increased its stake 477.8% (adding 4.88M shares) and now owns ~5.90M shares, while hedge funds/institutions hold roughly 77.69% of the stock.
• Sonoco beat expectations with Q EPS of $1.05 (vs. $1.01) and revenue up 29.7% YoY, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.54 ($2.16 annualized) for a ~3.8% yield (ex-dividend May 8, payable June 10).

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,306,907 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 4,431,964 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 947,216 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total transaction of $89,152.59. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 477.8% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $257,561,000 after purchasing an additional 4,880,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $194,733,000 after acquiring an additional 13,161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,898,370 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $170,126,000 after acquiring an additional 176,949 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $122,169,000 after acquiring an additional 162,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.2% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,678,122 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $115,400,000 after acquiring an additional 31,932 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.78.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 763,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,064. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.71, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.20 and a 200-day moving average of $47.11. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $38.65 and a 12-month high of $58.44.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

About Sonoco Products

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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