Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Short Interest Update

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, an increase of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 2,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 803,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted 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 decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.17. 135,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 680,393. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

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.