Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.20.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus reduced their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $51.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock has a 52 week low of $32.73 and a 52 week high of $55.49.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.12). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.