Allstate Corp Buys New Shares in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,252,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after buying an additional 9,581 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,039,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,049,000 after buying an additional 500,699 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $511,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SW. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $45.05 on Tuesday. 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 Ltd has a 52 week low of $38.55 and a 52 week high of $56.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.91 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.35 and a 200-day moving average of $50.69.

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

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

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