MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 6,862 Shares of Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) by 36.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,862 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Westrock Coffee were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEST. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Westrock Coffee during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Westrock Coffee during the fourth quarter worth $83,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Westrock Coffee in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Westrock Coffee in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Westrock Coffee by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.08% of the company’s stock.

Westrock Coffee Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEST opened at $6.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $577.62 million, a P/E ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.61. Westrock Coffee has a twelve month low of $5.28 and a twelve month high of $10.99.

Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.07). Westrock Coffee had a negative return on equity of 20.72% and a negative net margin of 9.05%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westrock Coffee will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO William A. Ford acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.45 per share, for a total transaction of $96,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 476,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,071,425.50. The trade was a 3.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Westrock Coffee in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Westrock Coffee in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Westrock Coffee from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Westrock Coffee currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $10.40.

About Westrock Coffee

Westrock Coffee Company, LLC operates as an integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Beverage Solutions, and Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability (SS&T). The Beverage Solutions segment provides various packaging, including branded and private label coffee in bags, fractional packs, and single serve cups, as well as extract solutions for applications in cold brew and ready-to-drink offerings.