Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 137,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,014,000. Sonoco Products accounts for 1.3% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 8,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 2,813.2% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 876,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,268,000 after acquiring an additional 846,794 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 89,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PEAK6 LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $700,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SON shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.11.

Insider Activity

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

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $50.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. Sonoco Products Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 4.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Sonoco Products 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.