WestRock (NYSE:WRK) PT Raised to $51.00 at Truist Financial

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $42.00 to $51.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WRK. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lifted their price objective on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.60.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WestRock stock opened at $51.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.16 and a 200 day moving average of $43.11. WestRock has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $52.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,165 shares of company stock valued at $1,007,346. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in WestRock by 14.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 70.4% in the third 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. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 600,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,120 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 64.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 111,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 43,910 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

About WestRock

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.