Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) fell 2.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $44.43 and last traded at $44.49. 1,319,249 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,531,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SW. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on 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 began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.65. The firm has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 82.61 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Remove Ads

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 0.63%. Research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 312.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,616 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,866 shares of the company's stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% 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.