Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Westrock Coffee shares rose 5.6% and trading volume jumped 21% after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from sell (e+) to sell (d-).
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms recently changed ratings, and the stock now has an overall Hold consensus with an average price target of $8.50.
• Despite ongoing losses, Westrock Coffee beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of -$0.04 versus estimates of -$0.13 and revenue of $308.83 million versus expectations of $285.13 million.

Shares of Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a sell (e+) rating to a sell (d-) rating. 481,600 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 21% from the previous session's volume of 398,930 shares.The stock last traded at $8.7940 and had previously closed at $8.25.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WEST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westrock Coffee from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $8.00 price target on shares of Westrock Coffee in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Westrock Coffee from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Westrock Coffee from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joe T. Ford bought 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.60 per share, for a total transaction of $253,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 533,916 shares in the company, valued at $2,456,013.60. The trade was a 11.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 27.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westrock Coffee

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. NFC Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westrock Coffee by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 4,089,711 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,876,000 after buying an additional 81,730 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westrock Coffee by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,984,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,503,000 after buying an additional 14,707 shares in the last quarter. Agman Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Westrock Coffee during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,007,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westrock Coffee by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 676,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,753,000 after buying an additional 356,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CastleKnight Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Westrock Coffee by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. CastleKnight Management LP now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,340,000 after buying an additional 178,020 shares in the last quarter. 45.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westrock Coffee Stock Up 5.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $844.11 million, a PE ratio of -11.62 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 37.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50 day moving average is $4.72 and its 200 day moving average is $4.55.

Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $308.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.13 million. Westrock Coffee had a negative net margin of 5.59% and a negative return on equity of 439.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westrock Coffee Company will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Westrock Coffee

Westrock Coffee Company is a global integrated coffee roaster and manufacturer that delivers end-to-end solutions across the coffee and tea supply chain. The company sources, roasts, blends, packages and distributes a diverse range of products, including hot and cold brew coffee, single-serve pods, instant and soluble coffee, tea, and specialty coffee extracts. Serving retail, convenience, foodservice and industrial customers, Westrock Coffee offers both private-label and co-packed branded products to meet the needs of supermarkets, quick-service restaurants, office coffee services and other channels.

Since its founding in 2008, Westrock Coffee has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish manufacturing facilities across North America, Latin America and Europe.

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