Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock Price

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $60.00 to $54.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Truist Financial's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.81% from the company's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SON. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.4 %

Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.23. The stock had a trading volume of 412,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,082. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. As a group, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $543,638,000 after acquiring an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,411,000 after purchasing an additional 136,965 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $78,203,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,338,000 after buying an additional 155,893 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sonoco Products

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.