Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW)

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 20,083 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 21,969% compared to the average volume of 91 call options.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

NYSE:SW traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.51. 1,299,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,099,932. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.76. Smurfit Westrock has a twelve month low of $38.55 and a twelve month high of $49.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.77 and a beta of 1.05.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 1.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SW shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.80.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

WestRock is a multinational provider of paper and packaging solutions for consumer and corrugated packaging markets. The company is one of the largest integrated producers of containerboard by tons produced, and one of the largest producers of high-graphics preprinted linerboard on the basis of net sales in North America.