Horizon Investments LLC Buys 189,276 Shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Horizon Investments boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 1,042.7% in Q4, buying 189,276 shares to hold 207,429 shares worth about $8.02 million at quarter-end.
• Smurfit Westrock's Q1 results showed an EPS miss ($0.33 vs. $0.36 expected) but revenue of ~$7.71B and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.076B (14.0% margin), and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 (annualized yield ~4.6%).
• Institutional buying is heavy (institutional ownership ~83.38% with major increases from Orbis, UBS, Franklin, Ruffer and Barclays), and analysts remain broadly positive (11 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $53.64 despite recent modest cuts.

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 1,042.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 207,429 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 189,276 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $8,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 81.9% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 18,400,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,978,000 after purchasing an additional 8,286,205 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 272.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,240,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,218,351 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 94.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 11,353,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,917,000 after acquiring an additional 5,511,887 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 473.3% during the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 4,504,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 152.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,269,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,180,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SW. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $53.64.

Smurfit Westrock News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Smurfit Westrock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share (annualized yield ~4.6%), with record/ex-dividend dates set for mid-May and payment in June — supports income-oriented investors. Smurfit Westrock Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Top-line and cash-flow positives: Q1 net sales ~$7.71B and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.076B (14.0% margin), with operating cash flow generation noted — these data points temper concerns from the EPS miss. Smurfit Westrock Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $62 from $64 but kept an “Overweight” rating — still implies meaningful upside from current levels, signaling continued analyst conviction despite some near-term uncertainty. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC cut its price target to $53 from $54 but maintained an “Outperform” rating, also showing that brokers expect recovery/upside even after small PT reductions. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Company posted its earnings presentation and call transcript — useful for digging into segment trends and management commentary on volumes and pricing. Earnings Presentation Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 EPS missed consensus: reported $0.33 vs. $0.36 expected and down sharply year-over-year; net income was weak and margins are compressed — a clear near-term negative that likely pressured sentiment. Zacks Q1 Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and coverage note operational headwinds (weather effects, weaker North America volumes) that dragged profit conversion despite revenue being roughly in line/above estimates — risk to near-term margins and EPS recovery. Zacks: Falls Short

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smurfit Westrock news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,660,119.40. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total transaction of $512,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,773,271.44. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $39.47 on Friday. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $52.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.55. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a PE ratio of 54.81 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 1.22%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.4523 dividend. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 251.39%.

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.

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