Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $33.60 and last traded at $33.84, with a volume of 6320997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays cut 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.30.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.10). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 2.40%.The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.89 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.28%.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter worth about $29,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.