Sonoco Products (SON) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 on March 10th

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th.

Sonoco Products has increased its dividend by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a dividend payout ratio of 30.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $6.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $46.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.04. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.35 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.83.

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.