Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $53.64, but opened at $50.96. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $50.96, with a volume of 1,423,219 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.98%.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.4308 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 955.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.70.

Insider Transactions at Smurfit Westrock

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 117.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Smurfit Westrock by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 55,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 4.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 284.24 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.52.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

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.