Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target Increased to $57.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

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

Several other analysts have also recently commented on SON. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $57.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $63.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.06. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $62,387,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,733,000 after buying an additional 642,109 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 20.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,474,000 after acquiring an additional 467,431 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,485,000 after acquiring an additional 371,096 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,275,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,264,000 after acquiring an additional 300,697 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.