WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Free Report) in a report published on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WRK. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded WestRock from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an equal weight rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WestRock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.40.

WestRock Stock Performance

NYSE WRK traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $49.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,540,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,042. WestRock has a 52 week low of $26.85 and a 52 week high of $49.67. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. WestRock's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. WestRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 39,928 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 5,108 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,551 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 12,559 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in WestRock by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 35,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in WestRock by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 208,790 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of WestRock by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 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.