Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $49 price target, implying about a 26.9% upside from the current price.
• Overall sell‑side sentiment is positive—11 analysts rate the stock "Buy" and 2 "Hold," with an average price target of $55.91.
• Smurfit Westrock recently missed quarterly EPS estimates ($0.34 vs. $0.46) and slightly missed revenue, while insiders (CEO and CFO) sold shares on Feb. 19; the stock trades around $38.62 with a ~$20.3B market cap.

Stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.88% from the company's current price.

SW has been the subject of several other reports. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price objective on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $47.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.91.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Up 6.7%

Shares of SW stock opened at $38.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04 and a beta of 1.06. Smurfit Westrock has a 1-year low of $32.73 and a 1-year high of $52.65. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $43.95 and a 200 day moving average of $41.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In other news, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 151,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,773,271.44. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total transaction of $2,061,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 8.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 970,595 shares of the company's stock worth $40,762,000 after acquiring an additional 74,360 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 520,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,454,000 after purchasing an additional 34,088 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 42.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,239,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,779,000 after purchasing an additional 372,177 shares during the period. Exane Asset Management raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 345,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,703,000 after buying an additional 90,233 shares during the period. Finally, Marathon Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,360,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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