Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Stock Price

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target for Smurfit Westrock from $55 to $57 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying about 20.5% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall have a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $57.23 average target.
• Smurfit Westrock’s quarterly revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $8.03 billion, exceeding estimates, but EPS of $0.35 missed the $0.42 consensus as higher freight, energy and input costs pressured profitability.
• The stock fell 2% to $47.30, while management lowered its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to $4.9 billion–$5.1 billion. Institutional investors remain significant holders, owning 83.38% of the company.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $55.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Truist Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.51% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SW. UBS Group lowered their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital set a $71.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.23.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,843,661. Smurfit Westrock has a 52-week low of $32.73 and a 52-week high of $52.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.67 and a 200 day moving average of $42.80.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The company had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 36,127,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,397,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,596,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,652,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $953,311,000 after purchasing an additional 845,218 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 81.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 18,400,418 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,978,000 after purchasing an additional 8,286,205 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,795,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,483,000 after purchasing an additional 155,778 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth about $495,335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company's stock.

Smurfit Westrock News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Smurfit Westrock this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on SW from $52 to $55 and assigned an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 16% upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Smurfit Westrock declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4523 per share, payable September 10 to shareholders of record August 14. The dividend represents an annualized yield of roughly 3.8%, which may appeal to income-focused investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts view the reduced near-term outlook as a cost-driven setback rather than a fundamental deterioration, arguing that the company could have a stronger earnings opportunity in 2027. Smurfit Westrock Guidance Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $8.03 billion, exceeding the $7.93 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.14 billion, while operating cash flow reached $765 million. Second-Quarter Results
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $0.35 per share, below the $0.42 analyst consensus and down from $0.45 a year earlier. Higher freight, energy and other input costs pressured profitability. Q2 Earnings Miss on Freight Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Management lowered its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to $4.9 billion–$5.1 billion. The combination of weaker-than-expected earnings and reduced guidance triggered the stock’s gap lower and remains the primary pressure on SW.

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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