Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Down 0.6% - Should You Sell?

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $45.50 and last traded at $45.72. 363,248 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 4,538,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two 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, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

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 fifty day moving average price is $51.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.66. The firm has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 81.19 and a beta of 0.99.

Remove Ads

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total value of $1,333,828.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 111,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.