WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Trading 3.8% Higher

WestRock (NYSE:WRK)’s share price traded up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $51.68 and last traded at $51.65. 2,222,047 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 2,544,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a report on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.75.

WestRock Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.30 and a 200 day moving average of $46.85.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. WestRock’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.68%.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,155,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,540,662,000 after buying an additional 103,667 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 22.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,301,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $260,176,000 after purchasing an additional 970,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 297.7% in the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,371 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after purchasing an additional 74,185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

About WestRock

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.