Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $45.39, but opened at $43.92. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $43.54, with a volume of 869,275 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SW shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.50.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 4.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.57 billion, a PE ratio of 47.85 and a beta of 1.05.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.06). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.91 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 132.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $2,822,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $90,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $2,005,000. Transform Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,424,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,832,000. Institutional investors 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.