Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Smurfit Westrock Ltd (NYSE:SW) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $45.39, but opened at $43.92. Smurfit Westrock shares last traded at $43.54, with a volume of 869,275 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SW shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.50.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.64.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.91 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 7.13%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock Ltd will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 101.68%.

Institutional Trading of Smurfit Westrock

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% 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.