Islay Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. State Street Corp increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,733,000 after acquiring an additional 13,161 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,721,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $160,353,000 after purchasing an additional 105,798 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Sonoco Products by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,169,000 after purchasing an additional 162,262 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,398,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,935,000 after buying an additional 18,308 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America raised Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $60.00 target price on Sonoco Products in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total transaction of $89,152.59. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares in the company, valued at $528,769.03. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $53.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.33, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.51. Sonoco Products Company has a 1-year low of $38.65 and a 1-year high of $58.44.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Sonoco Products Profile

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.