Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Short Interest Down 31.0% in September

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a decline of 31.0% from the September 15th total of 2,390,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 708,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.1 %

Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.20. The stock had a trading volume of 746,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 611,291. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 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 company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.03.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Raymond James began coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the second quarter worth $58,000. 77.69% of the stock is 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.