Brokerages Set Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) PT at $60.00

Shares of Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $60.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on SW shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Argus began coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Saverio Mayer sold 25,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,371,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 149,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,221,119.24. This trade represents a 14.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth $29,716,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth $36,861,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth about $198,258,000. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter worth about $858,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,681,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Price Performance

Shares of SW opened at $54.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a PE ratio of 302.96 and a beta of 1.04. Smurfit Westrock has a 1-year low of $38.55 and a 1-year high of $56.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 672.22%.

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.