Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Increases Stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 121,625 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $5,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SW. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 81.4% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $33.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66 and a beta of 1.12. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52 week low of $33.60 and a 52 week high of $56.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.10). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.89 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SW. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $63.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.30.

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.