WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Hits New 12-Month High at $51.23

WestRock (NYSE:WRK)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.23 and last traded at $51.08, with a volume of 583280 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WestRock Trading Up 6.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of -7.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.57.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WestRock

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WestRock in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 8.2% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 37,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of WestRock by 47.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,673 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,841,000 after buying an additional 83,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Company Profile

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.