Head-To-Head Contrast: Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) versus Brambles (OTCMKTS:BXBLY)

Brambles (OTCMKTS:BXBLY) and Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Brambles and Sonoco Products, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brambles	0	0	0	0	0.00
Sonoco Products	0	2	6	0	2.75

Sonoco Products has a consensus price target of $57.63, indicating a potential upside of 25.63%. Given Sonoco Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sonoco Products is more favorable than Brambles.

Risk & Volatility

Brambles has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sonoco Products has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Brambles and Sonoco Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brambles	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sonoco Products	8.35%	20.46%	4.64%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brambles and Sonoco Products”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brambles	$6.55 billion	3.21	$779.90 million	N/A	N/A
Sonoco Products	$5.31 billion	0.85	$163.95 million	$5.58	8.22

Brambles has higher revenue and earnings than Sonoco Products.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Brambles shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Sonoco Products shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Sonoco Products shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Brambles pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Sonoco Products pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Sonoco Products pays out 38.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sonoco Products has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Sonoco Products is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Sonoco Products beats Brambles on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brambles

Brambles Limited operates as a supply-chain logistics company. It operates through CHEP North America and Latin America; CHEP Europe, Middle East, Africa and India; and CHEP Australia, New Zealand and Asia, excluding India segments. The company engages in the pooling of unit-load equipment and associated services, focusing on the outsourced management of pallets, crates, and containers. It serves customers in the fast-moving consumer goods, fresh produce, beverage, retail, and general manufacturing industries. Brambles Limited was founded in 1875 and is based in Sydney, Australia.

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. The Industrial Paper Packaging segment provides paperboard tubes, cones, and cores; paper-based protective packaging products; and uncoated recycled paperboard products. It also offers various packaging materials, including plastic, paper, foam, and other specialty materials. Sonoco Products Company sells its products in various markets, which include paper, textile, film, food, packaging, construction, and wire and cable. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.