Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,330,000 shares, a growth of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 2,860,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 803,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 25.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 166,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,117,000 after purchasing an additional 34,382 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 305.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 97,024 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after purchasing an additional 73,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,223,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, reaching $48.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,710,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,390. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.31 and a 200-day moving average of $50.43. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $44.36 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 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.