WestRock (NYSE:WRK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 29th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of 0.3025 per share by the basic materials company on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th.

WestRock has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. WestRock has a dividend payout ratio of 35.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect WestRock to earn $3.33 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.21 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.3%.

WestRock Price Performance

NYSE:WRK traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,675,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,645. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. WestRock has a 52-week low of $26.85 and a 52-week high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WRK. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WestRock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.