Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $45.93 and last traded at $46.62, with a volume of 736783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SON. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.17.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.65. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 8,284 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after buying an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,465,000 after buying an additional 261,062 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 212,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,778,000 after acquiring an additional 49,200 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter worth $3,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

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.