Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Shares of Westrock Coffee gapped up after hours following earnings, opening at $6.87 from $5.90 and last trading around $8.17—about a 39% intraday rise on heavy volume.
• The company beat expectations with EPS of ($0.09) versus ($0.13) expected and revenue of $308.8M vs. $285.1M, though it remains unprofitable with a negative net margin and return on equity.
• Analysts are mixed but trending upward (Telsey raised its target to $9 and the consensus target is $8.50 with an average "Hold"), while director Joe T. Ford purchased 55,000 shares, increasing insider ownership.

Shares of Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.90, but opened at $6.87. Westrock Coffee shares last traded at $8.1670, with a volume of 1,698,799 shares.

The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $308.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.13 million. Westrock Coffee had a negative return on equity of 233.53% and a negative net margin of 7.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WEST shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Westrock Coffee from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westrock Coffee from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $8.00 target price on Westrock Coffee in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded Westrock Coffee from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Westrock Coffee in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westrock Coffee has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joe T. Ford purchased 55,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.60 per share, with a total value of $253,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 533,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,456,013.60. This represents a 11.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 27.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WEST. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westrock Coffee by 199.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Westrock Coffee by 79.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,439 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Westrock Coffee during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Westrock Coffee during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westrock Coffee during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.08% of the company's stock.

Westrock Coffee Stock Up 39.3%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $4.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.55. The company has a market cap of $796.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.57 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.

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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