Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) Trading 8.3% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) shares traded up 8.3% during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $44.18 and last traded at $44.2790. 3,334,192 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 5,378,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.90.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.4523 dividend. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is 120.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SW shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Monday, December 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.60.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 8.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $23.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.45 and its 200 day moving average is $41.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Smurfit Westrock by 90.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 6,378 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 192.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after acquiring an additional 8,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 41,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 12,096 shares during the period. 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.