WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $51.75.

WRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRK opened at $51.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.43. WestRock has a fifty-two week low of $27.86 and a fifty-two week high of $54.83. The company has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of WestRock 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 owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in WestRock by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,155,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,540,662,000 after acquiring an additional 103,667 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of WestRock by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,301,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $260,176,000 after purchasing an additional 970,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WestRock by 297.7% in the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,264,000 after buying an additional 2,294,371 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in WestRock by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after buying an additional 74,185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.