Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.56.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SW shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Argus started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SW. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at approximately $627,244,000. FMR LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth about $431,653,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $386,712,000. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $340,848,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $52.95 on Wednesday. Smurfit Westrock has a 12-month low of $38.55 and a 12-month high of $56.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.56. The company has a market capitalization of $27.54 billion, a PE ratio of 294.20 and a beta of 1.03.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 672.26%.

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.