Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a "strong sell" to a "hold"; analysts overall rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $53.18 (11 Buys, 2 Holds).
• Smurfit Westrock reported Q1 EPS of $0.33 which missed the $0.36 estimate while revenue of $7.71 billion beat expectations; the stock opened at $41.63, trading well below the consensus price target and within a one‑year range of $32.73–$52.65.
• Company insiders sold shares in February (CEO sold 40,000 shares at ~$51.54; CFO sold 10,000 at ~$51.26), and institutional investors own about 83.38% of the stock.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

SW has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.18.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

SW stock opened at $41.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.82 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.53. Smurfit Westrock has a one year low of $32.73 and a one year high of $52.65.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.57 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $84,660,119.40. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total value of $512,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 151,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 79,790.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 970,595 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,762,000 after purchasing an additional 74,360 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 42.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Exane Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exane Asset Management now owns 345,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,703,000 after purchasing an additional 90,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 152.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,269,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,333,000 after purchasing an additional 3,180,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company's stock.

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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