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

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

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upped their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $47.60.

WestRock Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WRK traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,224,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,828. WestRock has a 1-year low of $27.01 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.94. The stock has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 44.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that WestRock will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total transaction of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,856,721.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WestRock

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 12.4% during the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 327.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,890 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 32,854 shares during the period. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 5.1% in the first quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd now owns 1,398,280 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,145,000 after acquiring an additional 68,119 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of WestRock by 38.2% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,178,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,295,000 after acquiring an additional 325,816 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in WestRock during the first quarter worth approximately $678,000. Institutional investors 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.