Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to "Overweight" Rating

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 target price on the industrial products company's stock, up from their previous target price of $45.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.83% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on SON. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.43.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $45.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $543,638,000 after acquiring an additional 120,843 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,591,263 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,646,000 after purchasing an additional 450,792 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,655,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 60,746 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 9.8% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,308,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $109,074,000 after purchasing an additional 206,749 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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