Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stock Holdings in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Smurfit Westrock stake by 5.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.82 million shares valued at approximately $72.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.38% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $57.23. Wells Fargo and Citigroup recently raised their targets to $55 and $56, respectively.
• Smurfit Westrock reported quarterly revenue of $8.03 billion, slightly above expectations, but earnings per share of $0.35 missed the $0.42 consensus estimate. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.9%.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,820,494 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 88,309 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.35% of Smurfit Westrock worth $72,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1.6% in the 4th 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. boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 22,283 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 0.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,906 shares of the company's stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 5.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SW shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.23.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE SW opened at $46.03 on Friday. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 12 month low of $32.73 and a 12 month high of $52.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.03 and a 200-day moving average of $42.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.95.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) earnings per share. Smurfit Westrock's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

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

Smurfit Westrock News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price targets increased: Truist Financial raised its target from $55 to $57 and maintained a “buy” rating, while Wells Fargo lifted its target from $52 to $55 and assigned an “overweight” rating. The revised targets imply substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition-led growth remains a focus: Smurfit Westrock is reportedly seeking acquisitions to support its next phase of expansion. Successful deals could strengthen its market position, broaden its product portfolio and improve long-term growth. Smurfit Westrock is Hunting for Acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend supports shareholder returns: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share, payable September 10 to shareholders of record August 14. The indicated annual yield is approximately 3.8%, providing income support for investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory filing completed: Smurfit Westrock filed its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The filing provides the detailed financial and operating disclosures investors will use to assess the quarter and outlook. Smurfit Westrock Form 10-Q
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly earnings missed expectations: Smurfit Westrock reported adjusted earnings of $0.35 per share versus the $0.42 consensus estimate. Revenue of $8.03 billion exceeded forecasts and rose 1.1% year over year, but the earnings shortfall triggered a negative market reaction. Smurfit Westrock Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Cost pressures reduced the outlook: Higher freight, energy and other input costs pressured adjusted EBITDA, leading management to project full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $4.9 billion to $5.1 billion. Investors are weighing this near-term margin pressure against the company’s longer-term growth prospects. Smurfit Westrock Signals 2026 EBITDA Outlook

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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