WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a research note released on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an equal weight rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $42.40.

WestRock Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WRK opened at $47.57 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently -18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of WestRock by 70.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after acquiring an additional 753,828 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of WestRock by 635.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 657,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after acquiring an additional 568,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in WestRock by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,120 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.