5,315 Shares in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Bought by Harbor Advisors LLC

Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of WestRock by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 153.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 111,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after buying an additional 43,910 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 58,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after buying an additional 5,445 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WestRock Trading Down 2.0 %

WestRock stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,112,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,753. WestRock has a 1-year low of $26.85 and a 1-year high of $49.67. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.08. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. WestRock’s payout ratio is -18.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WRK shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% 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.