Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Sylvamo Corporation's stock price gapped up from $43.30 to $45.20 before trading on Monday, with the last trade recorded at $45.04 and a volume of 41,831 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Sylvamo; Zacks Research downgraded it to "strong sell," while Royal Bank of Canada set a target price of $49.00, contrasting with Bank of America's reduced price objective from $67.00 to $64.00.
• The company reported disappointing quarterly earnings, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.37, missing estimates of $0.47, and a revenue decline of 14.9% year-over-year.

Shares of Sylvamo Corporation (NYSE:SLVM - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $43.30, but opened at $45.20. Sylvamo shares last traded at $45.04, with a volume of 41,831 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Sylvamo's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLVM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $49.00 target price on shares of Sylvamo and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sylvamo to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Sylvamo from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $71.00.

Sylvamo Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.95.

Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $794.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $826.60 million. Sylvamo had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 23.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sylvamo Corporation will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sylvamo

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sylvamo by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,994,527 shares of the company's stock worth $200,843,000 after acquiring an additional 149,326 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Sylvamo by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,804,055 shares of the company's stock worth $120,998,000 after acquiring an additional 12,371 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Sylvamo by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,203,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,314,000 after acquiring an additional 80,176 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sylvamo by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 985,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,396,000 after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sylvamo by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 837,221 shares of the company's stock worth $41,945,000 after purchasing an additional 58,449 shares during the period. 91.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sylvamo Company Profile

Sylvamo Corporation produces and markets uncoated freesheet for cutsize, offset paper, and pulp in Latin America, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Europe, Latin America, and North America segments. The Europe segment offers copy, tinted, and colored laser printing paper under REY Adagio and Pro-Design brands; and graphic and high-speed inkjet printing papers under the brand Jetstar; as well as produces uncoated freesheet papers.