National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stock Holdings in Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 2,102.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 239,508 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 228,635 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $12,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $893,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,751,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $773,000. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $373,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted 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. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 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, Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SW traded down $2.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.79. 1,579,115 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,868,139. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Smurfit Westrock Ltd has a fifty-two week low of $37.01 and a fifty-two week high of $56.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.32. The firm has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a PE ratio of 72.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. As a group, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were 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 was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.