Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) by 26.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,101 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SW. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 369,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,294,000 after purchasing an additional 30,804 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $924,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 1,042.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 207,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,021,000 after purchasing an additional 189,276 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Smurfit Westrock by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,559,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at $14,546,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 2.8%

Smurfit Westrock stock opened at $48.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 1-year low of $32.73 and a 1-year high of $52.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.96.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.07). Smurfit Westrock had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 1.59%.The company had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Smurfit Westrock’s dividend payout ratio is 192.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SW. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Smurfit Westrock from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Smurfit Westrock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.62.

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.