Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Smurfit Westrock received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 13 brokerages, with 11 buy ratings and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $57.69, above the reported share price of $45.92.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $8.03 billion, exceeding estimates, but earnings per share of $0.35 fell short of the $0.42 consensus. Revenue increased 1.1% year over year.
• Smurfit Westrock declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $1.81 and a 3.9% yield; institutional investors own 83.38% of the stock.

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.6923.

SW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $45.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock has a 12-month low of $32.73 and a 12-month high of $52.65.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 4.60%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 192.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 13,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 4.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 22,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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