Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

Research analysts at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 6.50% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on SON. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.25.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.7%

SON stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.07. 478,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,383. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.19. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $61.25.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,643.60. The trade was a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 47,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,066,366 in the last three months. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 450,792 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,655,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $125,439,000 after acquiring an additional 60,746 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,308,939 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $109,074,000 after acquiring an additional 206,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Hedge funds and other 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.