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

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.63 and last traded at $45.47. 639,075 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 4,556,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Argus started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 3.0 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 80.70 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $51.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.61.

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Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth 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 purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $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.