Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33), Zacks reports. Smurfit Westrock had a positive return on equity of 5.98% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SW traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.63. 3,550,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,115,376. Smurfit Westrock has a 12 month low of $38.55 and a 12 month high of $56.99. The firm has a market cap of $27.92 billion, a PE ratio of 297.98 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 672.26%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at $8,221,119.24. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.70.

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.