Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $46.46 and last traded at $46.73, with a volume of 41834 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.17.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 16,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Sonoco Products by 110.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,018,000 after buying an additional 38,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.