Sonoco Products Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 (NYSE:SON)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

Sonoco Products has decreased its dividend by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a dividend payout ratio of 35.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $5.55 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 37.5%.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.24. 499,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 609,381. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Raymond James began coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on SON

About Sonoco Products

(Get Free Report)

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.

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