Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet cut shares of Sonoco Products from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $56.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $49.98 and a one year high of $63.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.04.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 51.52%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Sonoco Products by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.7% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 27,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.