Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $32.13, but opened at $35.14. Sealed Air shares last traded at $35.44, with a volume of 344,355 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Sealed Air had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 74.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS.

Sealed Air Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Sealed Air’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SEE shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Sealed Air from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sealed Air from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sealed Air from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sealed Air from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sealed Air from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sealed Air currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sealed Air

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sealed Air in the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,800,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,330,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $620,117,000 after buying an additional 2,754,395 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sealed Air by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,788,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,176,000 after buying an additional 1,549,184 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sealed Air in the 4th quarter worth about $50,562,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Sealed Air during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,681,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.40% of the company’s stock.

Sealed Air Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.17 and its 200 day moving average is $34.90.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.