Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW Stake Lowered by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management cut its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 16.9% to 1,447,650 shares (about $55.98M), making it Polaris's fourth-largest holding and roughly 0.28% of the company.
• Smurfit Westrock raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4523 (annualized $1.81) for a ~4.5% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is an elevated 136.09%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Insiders sold shares (CEO 40,000 and CFO 10,000 on Feb. 19) while institutional ownership remains high at 83.38%; analysts are mostly bullish with a consensus price target of $53.91 despite several firms lowering their targets recently.

Polaris Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Free Report) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,447,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 295,010 shares during the period. Smurfit Westrock accounts for about 4.6% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Smurfit Westrock worth $55,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SW. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 90.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,425 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 6,378 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 6.7% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 5.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,559 shares of the company's stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 192.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the company's stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 8,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 40.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 41,772 shares of the company's stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 12,096 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 1.3%

SW opened at $39.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.62. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a one year low of $32.73 and a one year high of $52.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.4523 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 4.5%. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SW shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $59.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total value of $512,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,773,271.44. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 1,642,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $84,660,119.40. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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