Head to Head Review: Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) versus Amcor (NYSE:AMCR)

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) and Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Sonoco Products and Amcor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sonoco Products	2.40%	21.78%	5.09%
Amcor	5.99%	26.49%	6.11%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.7% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.1% of Amcor shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Amcor shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sonoco Products and Amcor”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sonoco Products	$5.31 billion	0.81	$163.95 million	$1.54	28.45
Amcor	$13.64 billion	0.98	$730.00 million	$0.56	16.44

Amcor has higher revenue and earnings than Sonoco Products. Amcor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sonoco Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sonoco Products and Amcor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sonoco Products	0	2	6	0	2.75
Amcor	0	3	8	0	2.73

Sonoco Products presently has a consensus price target of $56.25, indicating a potential upside of 28.37%. Amcor has a consensus price target of $11.20, indicating a potential upside of 21.67%. Given Sonoco Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Sonoco Products is more favorable than Amcor.

Dividends

Sonoco Products pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Amcor pays an annual dividend of $0.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Sonoco Products pays out 137.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Amcor pays out 91.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sonoco Products has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Amcor has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Amcor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sonoco Products has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amcor has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Amcor beats Sonoco Products on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Industrial Paper Packaging segment provides paperboard tubes, cones, and cores; paper-based protective packaging products; and uncoated recycled paperboard products. It also offers various packaging materials, including plastic, paper, foam, and other specialty materials. Sonoco Products Company sells its products in various markets, which include paper, textile, film, food, packaging, construction, and wire and cable. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.

About Amcor

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries. The Rigid Packaging segment offers rigid containers for various beverage and food products, including carbonated soft drinks, water, juices, sports drinks, milk-based beverages, spirits and beer, sauces, dressings, spreads, and personal care items; and plastic caps for various applications. The company sells its products through its direct sales force. Amcor plc was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.