Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Reaches New 52-Week Low at $54.27

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $54.27 and last traded at $54.31, with a volume of 134540 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.42.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at $969,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,485,000 after purchasing an additional 371,096 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 266,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,863,000 after buying an additional 41,006 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,890,000 after buying an additional 88,407 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 97,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 32,460 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.