Critical Review: Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) & Amcor (NYSE:AMCR)

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) and Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) are both large-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.4% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.1% of Amcor shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Amcor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Smurfit Westrock pays an annual dividend of $1.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Amcor pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Smurfit Westrock pays out 192.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Amcor pays out 110.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Amcor has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Amcor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Smurfit Westrock and Amcor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smurfit Westrock	1.59%	4.60%	1.85%
Amcor	4.71%	15.92%	5.01%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Smurfit Westrock and Amcor”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smurfit Westrock	$31.18 billion	0.71	$699.00 million	$0.94	45.11
Amcor	$23.51 billion	0.91	$177.00 million	$2.36	19.62

Smurfit Westrock has higher revenue and earnings than Amcor. Amcor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smurfit Westrock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Smurfit Westrock has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amcor has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Smurfit Westrock and Amcor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smurfit Westrock	0	2	11	0	2.85
Amcor	0	6	5	1	2.58

Smurfit Westrock presently has a consensus target price of $56.69, suggesting a potential upside of 33.69%. Amcor has a consensus target price of $49.36, suggesting a potential upside of 6.57%. Given Smurfit Westrock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Smurfit Westrock is more favorable than Amcor.

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. It also produces linerboard and corrugated medium, paperboard, and non-packaging grades of paper, as well as converted products, such as folding cartons and corrugated boxes, and other products; recycled paper-based packaging products; and packaging machinery. The company primarily serves food and beverage, e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, industrial, and foodservice markets. Smurfit Westrock Plc was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Amcor

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries. The Rigid Packaging segment offers rigid containers for various beverage and food products, including carbonated soft drinks, water, juices, sports drinks, milk-based beverages, spirits and beer, sauces, dressings, spreads, and personal care items; and plastic caps for various applications. The company sells its products through its direct sales force. Amcor plc was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.