Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Price Target Cut to $64.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Argus began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.51 and a 200-day moving average of $50.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 79.31 and a beta of 0.99. Smurfit Westrock has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33). Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 6.16%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4308 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 312.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Alvaro Henao sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.90, for a total transaction of $215,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 44,361 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,057.90. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ken Bowles sold 24,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.06, for a total transaction of $1,333,828.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,136,877.48. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,300,041,000. State Street Corp acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth approximately $967,582,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth approximately $627,244,000. FMR LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $431,653,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $386,712,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.