Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) to Issue $0.52 Quarterly Dividend

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

Sonoco Products has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 35.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $5.55 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 37.5%.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.2 %

SON traded down $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 499,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,382. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.95. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com lowered Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

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.