SEB Asset Management AB Purchases New Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 103,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,115,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SW. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 79,790.6% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 127,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,459,000 after purchasing an additional 127,665 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth $2,412,000. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 369,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,294,000 after purchasing an additional 30,804 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth $924,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 1,042.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 207,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,021,000 after purchasing an additional 189,276 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

SW opened at $44.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $23.33 billion, a PE ratio of 61.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.95. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 1 year low of $32.73 and a 1 year high of $52.65.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 251.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Smurfit Westrock from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.83.

Smurfit Westrock 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.