Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Citigroup

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) had its price target decreased by Citigroup from $54.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on SW. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Smurfit Westrock from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $69.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.15.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $45.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $23.69 billion, a PE ratio of 50.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. Smurfit Westrock has a 52 week low of $32.73 and a 52 week high of $52.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.70 and its 200-day moving average is $43.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.29 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 1.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.4523 dividend. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.37%.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 187.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 768 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $37,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the first quarter worth $62,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 140.7% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 93.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE:SW) is a global provider of sustainable paper and packaging solutions. The company produces containerboard, corrugated packaging, folding cartons, paper bags, displays and other packaging products designed for consumer, retail, industrial and e-commerce applications. It also provides packaging design, supply-chain support and recycling services.

Smurfit Westrock was formed in July 2024 through the combination of Smurfit Kappa Group and WestRock. The transaction brought together two established packaging businesses with roots in Europe and North America.