Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading 1.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) traded up 1.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.50 and last traded at $45.72. 687,925 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,544,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $23.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.34 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.68.

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

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth about $5,252,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 9,581 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $597,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $520,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $77,207,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

About Smurfit Westrock

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.