Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Share Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Smurfit Westrock shares moved above their 200-day moving average of $43.52, reaching $46.21 before last trading at $45.17. Weiss Ratings raised its assessment from hold (C) to hold (C+).
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.45 per share, below the $0.60 analyst consensus, and revenue of $8.16 billion, also short of expectations; revenue nevertheless rose 2% year over year.
• Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $55.15 price target. Smurfit Westrock announced a $0.4523 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.0% yield.

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a hold (c) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $43.52 and traded as high as $46.21. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $45.1690, with a volume of 8,466,757 shares traded.

SW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Loop Capital set a $71.00 target price on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SW. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 187.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 768 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the first quarter valued at about $62,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 93.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Smurfit Westrock by 140.7% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a PE ratio of 50.75, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.52.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.15). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 4.27%. The business had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Smurfit Westrock's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 203.37%.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

Smurfit Westrock plc NYSE: SW is a global provider of sustainable paper and packaging solutions. The company produces containerboard, corrugated packaging, folding cartons, paper bags, displays and other packaging products designed for consumer, retail, industrial and e-commerce applications. It also provides packaging design, supply-chain support and recycling services.

Smurfit Westrock was formed in July 2024 through the combination of Smurfit Kappa Group and WestRock. The transaction brought together two established packaging businesses with roots in Europe and North America.

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