Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON traded down $1.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.03. 515,877 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 431,165. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $63.74. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.98.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.