Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) Shares Gap Up to $32.10

Shares of Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $32.10, but opened at $35.00. Sealed Air shares last traded at $34.41, with a volume of 685,556 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sealed Air from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial upgraded Sealed Air from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Sealed Air in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sealed Air from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.18.

Sealed Air Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 107.48% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sealed Air Co. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Sealed Air's payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Sealed Air by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sealed Air by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sealed Air by 1.5% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,127 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 57.9% in the third quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sealed Air by 3.6% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,273 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. 94.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sealed Air

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.