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

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

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

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK opened at $46.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.20. WestRock has a 52-week low of $26.85 and a 52-week high of $49.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in WestRock during the third quarter valued at $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in WestRock by 268.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 82.0% in the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.