Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $53.64, but opened at $50.96. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $50.96, with a volume of 1,423,219 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.98%.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. The trade was a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth $627,244,000. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth $431,653,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at about $386,712,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $27.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 297.98 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.66.

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.