Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.53 Per Share

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of 0.53 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a 1.9% increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

Sonoco Products has increased its dividend by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 32.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $6.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.46. 582,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 747,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.76.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.