Analysts Set WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Price Target at $48.80

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.80.

WRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

WestRock Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of WRK opened at $49.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.72 and a 200 day moving average of $46.14. WestRock has a 52-week low of $27.12 and a 52-week high of $54.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total transaction of $499,162.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 297.7% in the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,371 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of WestRock in the third quarter valued at approximately $61,378,000. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,228,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,375 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.