Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target Raised to $63.00

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sonoco Products from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set an outperform rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $53.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.14 and a 200-day moving average of $55.15.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,698 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,275,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,264,000 after acquiring an additional 300,697 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,465,000 after acquiring an additional 261,062 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,179,000 after purchasing an additional 248,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,507,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by 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.