WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.14 EPS

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

WestRock Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WRK traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,966,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.95. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $51.79. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.73 and its 200 day moving average is $42.77.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRK has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on WestRock in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Five 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.