Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Down 2.7% – Time to Sell?

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) traded down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $44.43 and last traded at $44.49. 1,319,249 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 4,531,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup boosted 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. Argus started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day moving average is $50.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 80.39 and a beta of 0.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total value of $215,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 44,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,391,057.90. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,136,877.48. The trade was a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SW. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,955,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $426,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $957,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

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.