Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $48.74, but opened at $46.13. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $45.4570, with a volume of 1,241,484 shares traded.

Specifically, CEO Anthony P. J. Smurfit sold 40,000 shares of Smurfit Westrock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.54, for a total value of $2,061,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,642,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,660,119.40. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ken Bowles sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.26, for a total transaction of $512,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 151,644 shares in the company, valued at $7,773,271.44. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $58.00 target price on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus decreased their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.20.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Down 5.2%

The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.77 and a 200-day moving average of $41.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $7.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.63 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 2.24% and a return on equity of 6.10%. Smurfit Westrock’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Smurfit Westrock Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 136.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.