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

Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $51.23 and last traded at $51.08, with a volume of 583280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.00.

WestRock Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $47.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of -7.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.3025 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is -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 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WestRock

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in WestRock in the 4th quarter valued at $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in WestRock by 297.7% in the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294,371 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after purchasing an additional 74,185 shares during the last quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 2,907,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in WestRock by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,549,000 after acquiring an additional 275,033 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.