Smurfit Westrock (SW) Competitors

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) and Ball (NYSE:BALL) are both large-cap shipping containers companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, media sentiment and dividends.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in SW or BALL?

83.4% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Ball shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Ball shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer SW or BALL?

In the previous week, Ball had 40 more articles in the media than Smurfit Westrock. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Ball and 8 mentions for Smurfit Westrock. Smurfit Westrock's average media sentiment score of 1.53 beat Ball's score of 0.53 indicating that Smurfit Westrock is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Smurfit Westrock	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Ball	18 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	19 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, SW or BALL?

Ball has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Smurfit Westrock. Ball is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smurfit Westrock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smurfit Westrock	$21.11B	1.07	$319M	$1.22	35.31
Ball	$11.80B	1.33	$4.01B	$1.68	33.58

Is SW or BALL more profitable?

Ball has a net margin of 4.18% compared to Smurfit Westrock's net margin of 1.98%. Ball's return on equity of 15.41% beat Smurfit Westrock's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smurfit Westrock	1.98%	7.38%	2.95%
Ball	4.18%	15.41%	5.29%

Is SW or BALL a better dividend stock?

Smurfit Westrock pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Ball pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Smurfit Westrock pays out 141.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ball pays out 47.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Which has more risk and volatility, SW or BALL?

Smurfit Westrock has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ball has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend SW or BALL?

Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus target price of $58.50, suggesting a potential upside of 35.80%. Ball has a consensus target price of $61.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.13%. Given Smurfit Westrock's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Smurfit Westrock is more favorable than Ball.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smurfit Westrock	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90
Ball	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Summary

Ball beats Smurfit Westrock on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.