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

Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW)’s share price traded up 8.3% during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.4523 dividend. This is a boost from Smurfit Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 120.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $51.00 target price on Smurfit Westrock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Smurfit Westrock from $63.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Smurfit Westrock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.60.

Smurfit Westrock Trading Up 8.9%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.26. The company has a market capitalization of $23.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.15 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Smurfit Westrock

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 113.3% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Smurfit Westrock during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Smurfit Westrock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Smurfit Westrock by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.