Sonoco Products (SON) To Go Ex-Dividend on May 9th

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a 1.9% increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52.

Sonoco Products has raised its dividend by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a dividend payout ratio of 32.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $6.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.9%.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $44.44 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. This represents a 22.75 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.43.

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.