National Pension Service Has $5.44 Million Stock Position in Smurfit Westrock PLC $SW

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock PLC (NYSE:SW) by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,427 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Smurfit Westrock were worth $5,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Smurfit Westrock in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Smurfit Westrock during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Smurfit Westrock by 187.6% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smurfit Westrock in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Smurfit Westrock Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of SW opened at $43.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.34. Smurfit Westrock PLC has a 52 week low of $32.73 and a 52 week high of $52.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.95.

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. Smurfit Westrock had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 4.60%. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Smurfit Westrock PLC will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Smurfit Westrock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.4523 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Smurfit Westrock’s payout ratio is currently 192.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SW shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Smurfit Westrock from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Smurfit Westrock from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Smurfit Westrock from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Smurfit Westrock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Smurfit Westrock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.69.

Smurfit Westrock Profile

Smurfit Westrock plc (NYSE:SW) is a global provider of paper and corrugated packaging solutions. The company designs and manufactures products such as corrugated shipping containers, consumer packaging, folding cartons, paper bags, displays and other fiber-based packaging used across a range of industries.

The company also produces containerboard and other paper products that support its packaging operations, along with recycling and packaging-related services. Its customers include businesses in the food and beverage, consumer products, industrial, e-commerce and retail sectors.