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

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a positive return on equity of 5.98% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Insider Activity at Smurfit Westrock

In related news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $1,371,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 insiders.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,519,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CWM LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

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

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.