Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $45.39, but opened at $43.92. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $43.54, with a volume of 869,275 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.50.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 2.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27 and a beta of 1.05.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SW. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $218,000. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $670,000. Czech National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth about $4,967,000. SWS Partners acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,199,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,519,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.