Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Receives $58.50 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 5.5 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $39.46 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.47 and its 200 day moving average is $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 126.06%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 111.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 650.7% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.