Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

SON has been the topic of several other research reports. 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of SON opened at $49.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.21. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $49.10 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SON. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 42,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 39.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,654,000 after buying an additional 29,630 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 154.8% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 5,429 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 205.9% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 35,458 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 23,866 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.