AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) and Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Head to Head Analysis

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

Dividends

AptarGroup pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Sonoco Products pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. AptarGroup pays out 32.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sonoco Products pays out 137.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AptarGroup has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years and Sonoco Products has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AptarGroup 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
AptarGroup	$3.58 billion	2.84	$374.54 million	$5.48	28.13
Sonoco Products	$5.31 billion	0.84	$163.95 million	$1.54	29.40

AptarGroup has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sonoco Products. AptarGroup is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sonoco Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for AptarGroup and Sonoco Products, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AptarGroup	0	1	4	1	3.00
Sonoco Products	0	2	6	0	2.75

AptarGroup currently has a consensus price target of $180.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.78%. Sonoco Products has a consensus price target of $56.75, indicating a potential upside of 25.33%. Given Sonoco Products’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sonoco Products is more favorable than AptarGroup.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.5% of AptarGroup shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Sonoco Products shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of AptarGroup shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Sonoco Products shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

AptarGroup has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sonoco Products has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AptarGroup	10.41%	15.10%	8.37%
Sonoco Products	2.40%	21.78%	5.09%

Summary

AptarGroup beats Sonoco Products on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AptarGroup

AptarGroup, Inc. designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures segments. It also provides pumps for nasal allergy treatments; and metered dose inhaler valves for respiratory ailments, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; elastomer for injectable primary packaging components; and active material science solutions. In addition, the company offers dispensing pumps, closures, elastomeric components, and aerosol valves to the digital health solutions. It primarily sells its products and services in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. AptarGroup, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

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.