Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.30.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SW shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Smurfit Westrock from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Irial Finan acquired 15,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.21 per share, with a total value of $595,207.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 779 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $47.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.43. Smurfit Westrock has a 52-week low of $37.01 and a 52-week high of $56.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.07.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was up 161.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Smurfit Westrock's dividend payout ratio is currently 140.98%.

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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