Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

SON has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE SON opened at $51.62 on Tuesday. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $49.98 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.29.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 27,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. 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.