Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $57.54

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eleven of 13 covering brokerages rate Smurfit Westrock a buy, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average 12-month price target of $57.54.
• The stock opened at $43.05, below its 12-month high of $52.65. In its latest quarter, revenue reached $8.03 billion and exceeded expectations, but EPS of $0.35 missed the $0.42 consensus estimate.
• Smurfit Westrock pays an annualized dividend of $1.81 per share, yielding about 4.2%; institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s shares.

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are presently 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 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.54.

SW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $43.05 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 45.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.96. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 4.60%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.05) EPS. The business's quarterly 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 192.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 36,127,677 shares of the company's stock worth $1,397,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,596,558 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,054,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,119,000 after purchasing an additional 360,078 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,253,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,799 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter valued at $243,400,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,460,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,587,000 after buying an additional 318,336 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock plc NYSE: SW is a global provider of paper-based packaging solutions. The company manufactures corrugated packaging, folding cartons, paper bags and sacks, beverage packaging, consumer packaging, point-of-sale displays, and other customized products designed to protect, transport, and present goods.

The company also operates paper mills, recycling facilities, and packaging-design and testing operations. Its products serve customers in industries including food and beverage, consumer goods, retail, industrial products, and e-commerce.

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