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

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) shares fell 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SW has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Argus began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth about $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $627,244,000. FMR LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $431,653,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $386,712,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.