Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.53

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. This is a 1.9% increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

Sonoco Products has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 32.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $6.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.1 %

Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.97. The stock had a trading volume of 160,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,357. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. 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 (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Insider Activity

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