Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $62.00 price target on the industrial products company's stock.

SON has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.23. 412,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 750,444. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The business's 50 day moving average is $45.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 128.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 152.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 950 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 90.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 111.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 650.7% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

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.