WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WRK. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

WestRock Stock Performance

WestRock stock opened at $46.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 297.7% during the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,264,000 after buying an additional 2,294,371 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $61,378,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $59,428,000. Finally, KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $55,228,000. 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.