Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Short Interest Down 23.2% in February

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,974,989 shares, a decline of 23.2% from the January 29th total of 6,478,790 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,014,603 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,014,603 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 477.8% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $257,561,000 after buying an additional 4,880,438 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $194,733,000 after acquiring an additional 13,161 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,898,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $170,126,000 after purchasing an additional 176,949 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,169,000 after purchasing an additional 162,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.2% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,678,122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $115,400,000 after purchasing an additional 31,932 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.2%

SON traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $56.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 441,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,348. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.50. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $38.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.21 and its 200-day moving average is $45.19.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Sonoco Products Company 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.