WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

WRK has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.40.

WestRock Price Performance

WRK stock opened at $47.50 on Tuesday. WestRock has a 52 week low of $26.85 and a 52 week high of $49.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. WestRock’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in WestRock by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in WestRock by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after purchasing an additional 753,828 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in WestRock by 635.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 657,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,406,000 after purchasing an additional 568,232 shares during the period. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of WestRock by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,940,000 after buying an additional 165,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.