Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.25.

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SON traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 331,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,322. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $57.21. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $44.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.70.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sonoco Products's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.66%.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. acquired 5,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,643.60. This trade represents a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 502,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366 in the last ninety days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 508.1% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 152.7% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 950 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 111.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 90.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

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.