Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $63.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SON. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $51.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.77. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $48.22 and a one year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 110.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 38,564 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 33.4% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sonoco Products

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.