StockNews.com Begins Coverage on WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.75.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of WestRock stock opened at $51.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. WestRock has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.33. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 43.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued 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. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of WestRock by 94.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 64,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,182,000 after purchasing an additional 31,321 shares in the last quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd bought a new stake in WestRock during the 4th quarter worth about $55,228,000. Eisler Capital UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,961,000. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 442.5% in the 4th quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 253,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 206,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segantii Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 2,907,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Company Profile

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.