Short Interest in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Drops By 16.4%

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,157,658 shares, a decline of 16.4% from the February 12th total of 4,974,989 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,408,078 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,408,078 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $47.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SON traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.64. 393,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,015,727. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $38.65 and a twelve month high of $58.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.72. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.50.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares in the company, valued at $528,769.03. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 42,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,498,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,403,000 after acquiring an additional 178,638 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in Sonoco Products by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $922,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.