Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock Price Up 7.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Smurfit Westrock shares rose 7.6% in midday trading Friday, reaching as high as $46.17 after closing at $43.71 the prior session. Trading volume was lighter than normal, with about 2.26 million shares changing hands.
• Recent analyst action has been mostly positive, including buy ratings and higher price targets from firms such as Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and Truist. The stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $54.83.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing earnings expectations but topping revenue estimates. It also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share, which annualizes to a 3.8% yield.

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $46.17 and last traded at $47.0340. Approximately 2,261,661 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 5,775,481 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SW. Zacks Research upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.83.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $42.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.55.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.96% and a net margin of 1.22%.The business's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is presently 251.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SW. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 79,790.6% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 127,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,459,000 after purchasing an additional 127,665 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth about $2,412,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 369,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,294,000 after acquiring an additional 30,804 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at $924,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 1,042.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 207,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,021,000 after acquiring an additional 189,276 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Smurfit Westrock

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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