Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

SON has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.2 %

SON opened at $48.48 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $48.22 and a 1-year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.2% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 42,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,654,000 after acquiring an additional 29,630 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 154.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 5,429 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 205.9% in the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 35,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 23,866 shares in 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.