Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading Down 5.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $43.50 and last traded at $44.07. 1,019,069 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,588,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Argus began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 7.2 %

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 company’s 50-day moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day moving average is $50.78. The company has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 EPS 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%. Research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.