Prelude Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Prelude Capital Management LLC cut its position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WRK. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP bought a new position in WestRock in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Cornerstone Management Inc. boosted its stake in WestRock by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Management Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in WestRock by 203.8% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in WestRock by 110.9% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. 85.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WestRock Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WRK stock opened at $36.54 on Tuesday. WestRock has a 1 year low of $26.84 and a 1 year high of $39.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 1.21.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.39. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 8.75% and a negative net margin of 6.82%. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that WestRock will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. WestRock’s payout ratio is -19.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRK. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of WestRock from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of WestRock from $42.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of WestRock from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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 in 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.