Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.37 and last traded at $28.65, with a volume of 53943 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sealed Air from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America cut their price target on Sealed Air from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sealed Air from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Sealed Air from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sealed Air from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Sealed Air Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.33. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.32.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 74.21% and a net margin of 7.34%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sealed Air Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sealed Air Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Sealed Air’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.20%.

Insider Transactions at Sealed Air

In other Sealed Air news, Director Henry R. Keizer purchased 1,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.00 per share, for a total transaction of $33,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,050,000. This represents a 3.31 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sealed Air

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sealed Air by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,330,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $620,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,754,395 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sealed Air by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,788,839 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,176,000 after buying an additional 1,549,184 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sealed Air in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,562,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sealed Air by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,316,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $416,657,000 after buying an additional 1,081,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Sealed Air by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,015,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,182,000 after acquiring an additional 920,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.40% of the company’s stock.

Sealed Air Company Profile

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.