Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.1250.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 42,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,498,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,403,000 after purchasing an additional 178,638 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Sonoco Products by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $53.46 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.06. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $38.65 and a 1-year high of $58.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.31, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.51.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.