Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Smurfit Westrock's shares gapped down by over 5% to $45.62 after reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.05), significantly missing analysts' expectations of $0.57.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4308, reflecting a 3.64% dividend yield, despite having a payout ratio of 140.98%.
• Several analysts have issued varied ratings, with an average consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $57.90, indicating potential growth despite recent earnings disappointments.

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $48.20, but opened at $45.62. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $47.30, with a volume of 991,043 shares.

The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.12). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.14% and a return on equity of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.88 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was up 167.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Smurfit Westrock's payout ratio is currently 260.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SW shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Insider Activity

In other Smurfit Westrock news, Director Irial Finan purchased 15,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $39.21 per share, for a total transaction of $595,207.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 54,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,152,354.53. This represents a 38.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SW. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the first quarter valued at $29,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 54.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 779 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.23 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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.