Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07, Briefing.com reports. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE:SON traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 111,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,042. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.52%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sonoco Products news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SON. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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.