Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Key Points

• Westrock Coffee shares fell sharply after the company reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.10, missing the $0.07 loss analysts expected, while revenue of $305.66 million also came in below the $318.80 million consensus.
• Analyst opinion remains mixed: three firms rate the stock Buy, one rates it Hold and one Sell, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $9.00.
• Insiders and institutional investors have continued buying shares, with insiders owning 25.40% and institutions holding 45.08% of the company; Director Joe T. Ford recently purchased 15,000 shares at $8.50 each.

Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $8.09, but opened at $7.00. Westrock Coffee shares last traded at $7.1450, with a volume of 154,717 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $305.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $318.80 million. Westrock Coffee had a negative return on equity of 2,145.68% and a negative net margin of 5.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEST. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Westrock Coffee from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Westrock Coffee from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Westrock Coffee in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Westrock Coffee from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $8.00 price target on shares of Westrock Coffee in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Westrock Coffee currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joe T. Ford purchased 15,000 shares of Westrock Coffee stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.50 per share, for a total transaction of $127,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 273,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,320,500. This trade represents a 5.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased 34,500 shares of company stock valued at $290,715 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 25.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Westrock Coffee

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WEST. Agman Capital LLC bought a new position in Westrock Coffee in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,007,000. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 worth $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 356,118 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westrock Coffee during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,203,000. CastleKnight Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Westrock Coffee by 44.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC acquired a new stake in shares of Westrock Coffee in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Institutional investors own 45.08% of the company's stock.

Westrock Coffee Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $8.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $703.74 million, a P/E ratio of -9.58 and a beta of 0.90.

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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