Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading Down 0.8% – What’s Next?

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) shares traded down 0.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.38 and last traded at $43.89. 459,365 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 4,579,812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 1.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a PE ratio of 80.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.66.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SW. Norges Bank bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $627,244,000. FMR LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $431,653,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $386,712,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

Smurfit Westrock Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products in Ireland and internationally. The company produces containerboard that it converts into corrugated containers or sells to third parties, as well as produces other types of paper, such as consumer packaging board, sack paper, graphic paper, solid board and graphic board, and other paper-based packaging products, such as consumer packaging, solid board packaging, paper sacks, and other packaging products, including bag-in-box.