Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Price Target Cut to $53.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its price target on Smurfit Westrock from $59 to $53 while keeping a "buy" rating, implying about a 25.9% upside from the stock's previous close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $54.82 average target (11 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell), though firms like Zacks have downgraded to "strong sell" and Goldman initiated coverage at a $49 target.
• SW traded around $42.11 with a $22.08B market cap and a P/E of 31.67; company insiders (CEO and CFO) sold shares in February, while institutional ownership remains high at about 83.4%.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $59.00 to $53.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.86% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SW. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research lowered Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.82.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

SW stock remained flat at $42.11 on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 1,214,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,107,822. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.65. Smurfit Westrock has a 12 month low of $32.73 and a 12 month high of $52.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.10% and a net margin of 2.24%.The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,642,610 shares in the company, valued at $84,660,119.40. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total transaction of $512,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 36,127,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,397,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,596,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,652,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $953,311,000 after purchasing an additional 845,218 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 81.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 18,400,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,978,000 after purchasing an additional 8,286,205 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,795,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,483,000 after purchasing an additional 155,778 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter valued at about $495,335,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.