Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading 1.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) shot up 1.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $45.18 and last traded at $44.29. 1,200,638 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 4,588,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Argus initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Two equities research 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 an average price target of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.12 and a 200-day moving average of $50.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd 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 Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 312.73%.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SW. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth $5,252,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 9,581 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $597,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $520,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at $77,207,000. Institutional investors 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.