Brokerages Set Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) PT at $62.63

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.6250.

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 price objective on Sonoco Products in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,498,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,403,000 after acquiring an additional 178,638 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $922,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 38,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $57.03 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.97. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $38.65 and a 12 month high of $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

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.