Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Sets New 1-Year Low at $54.27

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $54.27 and last traded at $54.31, with a volume of 134540 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Sonoco Products from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James initiated 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.46.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) 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 business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 5,486.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 14,364 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 662,156 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,995,000 after purchasing an additional 20,153 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares during the period. 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.

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