Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.33 EPS

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.33), Zacks reports. Smurfit Westrock had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 5.98%.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Down 7.4 %

NYSE:SW traded down $3.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.66. 2,510,456 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,131,636. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 275.90 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.63 and a 200 day moving average of $49.55. Smurfit Westrock has a 12 month low of $38.55 and a 12 month high of $56.99.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.4308 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 955.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SW. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Smurfit Westrock news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,221,119.24. This represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Company 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.