Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $39.46 and last traded at $42.84, with a volume of 1509262 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.31.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SON. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 32.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 21,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 5,338 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 18.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 194,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,610,000 after purchasing an additional 30,500 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 56.6% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 2,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 29.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,184,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.