Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a growth of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 2,860,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 803,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, reaching $48.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,710,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,390. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $44.36 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.43.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 13.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 5,792 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 25.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 166,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,117,000 after acquiring an additional 34,382 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 305.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 97,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 73,099 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,223,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.