StockNews.com Downgrades Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) to Hold

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms have also commented on SON. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $69.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Argus lowered Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.40.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $54.90 on Monday. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $49.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.92.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 7.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,631,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $709,539,000 after purchasing an additional 76,945 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,740,557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $609,312,000 after buying an additional 179,779 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,240,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $515,546,000 after acquiring an additional 972,157 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,566,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,481,000 after acquiring an additional 32,230 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,256,882 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,659,000 after acquiring an additional 99,088 shares in the last quarter. 76.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 through two segments: Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging.