Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Acquires New Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 23,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.31. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.