Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.71, but opened at $47.06. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $48.40, with a volume of 613,374 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.57.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.91 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.13.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 7.13% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.91 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SW. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth about $9,187,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,984,000. Old North State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,790,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $299,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter worth $6,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.