Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $45.75, but opened at $48.68. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $50.5220, with a volume of 5,625,565 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $63.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.40.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $26.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.30.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.63 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.4523 dividend. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 120.28%.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.