Morgan Stanley Cuts Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Price Target to $60.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61 to $60 but kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 37.85% upside from the prior close.
• The company missed Q results, reporting $0.34 EPS vs $0.46 expected and $7.58B revenue vs $7.63B expected, with a thin net margin of 2.24%, signaling near-term operational pressure.
• Insiders sold shares recently (CEO sold 40,000; CFO sold 10,000 at ~ $51.5), while the stock traded near $43.53 and analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $57.10.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.85% from the stock's previous close.

SW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research raised Smurfit Westrock from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.10.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,328,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,335,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.61. Smurfit Westrock has a 1-year low of $32.73 and a 1-year high of $52.65.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.12). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The business had revenue of $7.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Smurfit Westrock's quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, 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 value of $2,061,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,660,119.40. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% 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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