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

Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.6250.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $47.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total transaction of $89,152.59. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. This trade represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after buying an additional 15,079 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,755,000 after acquiring an additional 92,286 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 14.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 87.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 545,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,754,000 after acquiring an additional 255,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.6% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 37,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $52.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.20, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.86. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $38.65 and a 12 month high of $58.44.

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

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.