Aberdeen Group plc Cuts Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC by 41.2%, selling 29,164 shares and now holding 41,637 shares valued at $1,861,000.
• Smurfit Westrock recently reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter with an EPS of $0.45, below the expected $0.57, despite revenue rising to $7.94 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4308 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.72, with a high payout ratio of 260.61%.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its position in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,637 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,164 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 42,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 12,166 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,783 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 7,828 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $626,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 202.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,538 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,551,357 shares of the company's stock worth $191,269,000 after acquiring an additional 874,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of SW stock opened at $43.6520 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.29. The company has a market cap of $22.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.14 and a beta of 1.06. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 12 month low of $37.01 and a 12 month high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 1.14%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 167.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is currently 260.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SW has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.