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

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th.

Sonoco Products has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 38.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Sonoco Products to earn $5.53 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 37.6%.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SON opened at $49.81 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $48.22 and a 1-year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.67.

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.