Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

SON has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SON. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,904 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. SpiderRock Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 469.3% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 32,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,771,000 after purchasing an additional 26,718 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 18,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 14,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.34. 21,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,324. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.56.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.