Anthony Smurfit Sells 40,000 Shares of Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) CEO Anthony Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,660,119.40. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE SW traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.65. The company had a trading volume of 4,131,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,623,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.63 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.44. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 12-month low of $32.73 and a 12-month high of $54.00.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.63 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is 136.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus dropped their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.