Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Upgraded to Outperform at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $58.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $52.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SW opened at $51.46 on Thursday. Smurfit Westrock has a 1 year low of $38.55 and a 1 year high of $52.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 285.89 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.53.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 672.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $9,405,000. Forsta AP Fonden bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $5,476,000. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter worth approximately $2,041,000. Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at $596,000. 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.