Analysts Set Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) PT at $57.63

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.6250.

SON has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $45.44 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $56.77. The firm has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,184,000. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 10,312 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 37,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.