Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $52.52, but opened at $51.01. Sonoco Products shares last traded at $50.55, with a volume of 90,254 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Raymond James initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.7 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, 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 Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 55.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SON. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 78.8% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the first quarter worth $50,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the second quarter valued at about $58,000. 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.