WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial upped 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. 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 report on Thursday, January 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK stock opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.57. The company has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a PE ratio of -7.13, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.10. 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 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results 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). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. WestRock’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 4th quarter worth about $198,063,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 297.7% during the 4th quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,065,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $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% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares in the last quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WestRock by 75.2% during the 4th quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 2,907,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About WestRock

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.