Wells Fargo & Company Raises Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target to $57.00

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

SON has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TheStreet cut Sonoco Products from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $56.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.91 and its 200 day moving average is $56.04. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $49.98 and a 1-year high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.52%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the first quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 345,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,993,000 after buying an additional 3,781 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 1st quarter valued at about $260,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 15.1% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 12,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 12.7% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.