Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $50.96, but opened at $47.45. Sonoco Products shares last traded at $49.8860, with a volume of 184,822 shares changing hands.

The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SON. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $61.00 to $51.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 93.1% in the 1st quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 271.9% during the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 49.7% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 1,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 34.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.35.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company is a global packaging company headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. Founded in 1899 as the Southern Novelty Company, it has developed from a producer of paper cones for the textile industry into a diversified provider of packaging solutions serving consumer, industrial and commercial customers.

The company manufactures a broad range of products, including composite cans and tubes, paperboard packaging, flexible packaging, thermoformed packaging, rigid plastic containers, protective packaging and packaging components.