Norwood Financial Corp Acquires 425 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Norwood Financial Corp grew its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 31.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the quarter. Norwood Financial Corp’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 7.2% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 19,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,372,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $752,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.7% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 94,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.72. 1,080,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 543,379. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $49.98 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.27.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sonoco Products 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.