Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on SON. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $46.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $44.35 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.64 and a 200-day moving average of $50.87.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other 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 cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SON. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,638,000 after buying an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,411,000 after purchasing an additional 136,965 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,203,000. 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.