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

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th.

Sonoco Products has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years. Sonoco Products has a payout ratio of 35.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $54.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.55 and a 200-day moving average of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.