Analysts Set WestRock (NYSE:WRK) PT at $47.60

Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.60.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Saturday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total transaction of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,856,721.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,155,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,540,662,000 after buying an additional 103,667 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in WestRock by 22.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,301,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $260,176,000 after purchasing an additional 970,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WestRock by 297.7% in the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,264,000 after buying an additional 2,294,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after buying an additional 74,185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WRK opened at $53.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.55, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 1 year low of $27.12 and a 1 year high of $53.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.59 and its 200 day moving average is $44.33.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. WestRock’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that WestRock will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is currently 101.68%.

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.