Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $64.00 to $68.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Sonoco Products traded as high as $58.54 and last traded at $58.2750, with a volume of 819376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.32.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SON. Weiss Ratings cut Sonoco Products from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James A. Harrell III bought 6,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $50.37 per share, for a total transaction of $340,148.61. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,070 shares in the company, valued at $507,225.90. This represents a 203.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 477.8% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $257,561,000 after acquiring an additional 4,880,438 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 357.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,693,000 after buying an additional 1,654,576 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $54,611,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 2,813.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 876,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,268,000 after acquiring an additional 846,794 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,563,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,226,000 after purchasing an additional 764,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $51.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.97. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.37.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 8.41%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.18%.

About Sonoco Products

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.