Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.31.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Smurfit Westrock from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Smurfit Westrock from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $41.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.08 and a 200-day moving average of $43.55. Smurfit Westrock has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $52.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.96.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 1.59%.The business had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.4523 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 192.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 140,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,522,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 2.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 187.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 768 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 8.2% in the first quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 6,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE:SW) is a global provider of paper-based packaging solutions. The company manufactures corrugated packaging, folding cartons, paper bags and sacks, beverage packaging, consumer packaging, point-of-sale displays, and other customized products designed to protect, transport, and present goods.

The company also operates paper mills, recycling facilities, and packaging-design and testing operations. Its products serve customers in industries including food and beverage, consumer goods, retail, industrial products, and e-commerce.