Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Stock Has Average Target Price of $57.38

Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $57.38.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SON. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.8%

Sonoco Products stock opened at $48.79 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $39.27 and a twelve month high of $60.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a negative net margin of 3.08% and a positive return on equity of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -93.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 93.1% in the first quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 271.9% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company is a global packaging company headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. Founded in 1899 as the Southern Novelty Company, it has developed from a producer of paper cones for the textile industry into a diversified provider of packaging solutions serving consumer, industrial and commercial customers.

The company manufactures a broad range of products, including composite cans and tubes, paperboard packaging, flexible packaging, thermoformed packaging, rigid plastic containers, protective packaging and packaging components.