Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC opened a new position of 78,213 shares in Smurfit Westrock in Q3, worth about $3.33 million, while institutional investors now hold roughly 83.38% of the stock.
• Smurfit Westrock missed Q results (EPS $0.34 vs. $0.46 expected; revenue $7.58B vs. $7.63B) but analysts have raised price targets and the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $57.10 target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81, ~4.3% yield) despite a high payout ratio of 135.34%, and insiders disclosed sales (CFO sold 10,000 shares; CEO sold 40,000 shares).

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 78,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,330,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Groupe la Francaise acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:SW opened at $42.17 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $44.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 12-month low of $32.73 and a 12-month high of $52.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 1.06.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.63 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.4523 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Smurfit Westrock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is presently 135.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SW shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.10.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total value of $512,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at $7,773,271.44. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $2,061,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,660,119.40. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

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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