Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target Cut to $54.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its price target trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an outperform rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $58.67.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Sonoco Products stock traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.65. 761,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 579,739. The stock has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.26 and its 200-day moving average is $56.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.53%.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,387,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,485,000 after buying an additional 371,096 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,275,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,264,000 after acquiring an additional 300,697 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth approximately $8,507,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.3% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,580,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,275,000 after acquiring an additional 131,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

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.