Head to Head Contrast: Smurfit Westrock (SW) vs. Its Competitors

Smurfit Westrock (NYSE:SW – Get Free Report) is one of 70 publicly-traded companies in the “Containers & Packaging” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Smurfit Westrock to related businesses based on the strength of its profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Smurfit Westrock has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smurfit Westrock’s rivals have a beta of 0.80, indicating that their average stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.4% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Smurfit Westrock shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of shares of all “Containers & Packaging” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Smurfit Westrock and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Dividends

Smurfit Westrock pays an annual dividend of $1.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Smurfit Westrock pays out 192.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.7% and pay out -80.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Smurfit Westrock lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Smurfit Westrock and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Smurfit Westrock currently has a consensus target price of $57.62, suggesting a potential upside of 16.95%. As a group, “Containers & Packaging” companies have a potential upside of 31.30%. Given Smurfit Westrock’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Smurfit Westrock has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Smurfit Westrock and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Smurfit Westrock has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Smurfit Westrock is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Smurfit Westrock beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Smurfit Westrock Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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. It also produces linerboard and corrugated medium, paperboard, and non-packaging grades of paper, as well as converted products, such as folding cartons and corrugated boxes, and other products; recycled paper-based packaging products; and packaging machinery. The company primarily serves food and beverage, e-commerce, retail, consumer goods, industrial, and foodservice markets. Smurfit Westrock Plc was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.