Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock Price Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) were down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $45.88 and last traded at $45.95. Approximately 948,822 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 4,591,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 84.61 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.73.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 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.