WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK stock opened at $46.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.20. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of -6.97, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. WestRock’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 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 that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WestRock

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. CWM LLC increased its holdings in WestRock by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 77.2% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in WestRock in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in WestRock by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,604,000 after buying an additional 14,472 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.