Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.1111.

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $68.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $47.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.30. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $38.65 and a 1 year high of $58.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 4.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.39.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.37). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 13.57%.The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider James A. Harrell III purchased 6,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $50.37 per share, for a total transaction of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $507,225.90. The trade was a 203.59% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul Joachimczyk purchased 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.64 per share, for a total transaction of $399,999.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,417,619.12. The trade was a 39.31% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1,263.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.