Citigroup Cuts Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Price Target to $48.00

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $49.00 to $48.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Argus cut their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $51.00 price target on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Smurfit Westrock from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell 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 price target of $51.60.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 6.9%

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $42.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63 and a beta of 1.09. Smurfit Westrock has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $56.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.78 and a 200-day moving average of $41.71.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.89 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 2.40%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 0.6% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 41,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 15,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 13,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 21.8% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.