Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE SON opened at $56.71 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.96 and a 200-day moving average of $56.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $49.98 and a 52 week high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SON. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

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.