Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.47% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.22.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $54.09 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $38.65 and a twelve month high of $58.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 5.37, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.25.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The business’s revenue was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 172.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,263.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Company 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.