WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Short Interest Down 28.9% in April

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,370,000 shares, a decline of 28.9% from the April 15th total of 14,590,000 shares. Approximately 4.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John L. O'neal sold 6,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider John L. O'neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,165 shares of company stock valued at $1,007,346. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of WestRock by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 7,139 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in WestRock during the third quarter worth about $1,614,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in WestRock by 1.9% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 59,209 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in WestRock by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 122.3% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 832,989 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,821,000 after purchasing an additional 458,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company's stock.

WestRock Stock Performance

WestRock stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.64. 3,009,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,357,294. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.41. WestRock has a fifty-two week low of $26.85 and a fifty-two week high of $52.13. The firm has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business's revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on WestRock in a research note on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of WestRock from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WestRock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.60.

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.