Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Invests $212,000 in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 5,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRK. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $61,378,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at $59,428,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in WestRock by 6,024.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,290,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,632 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in WestRock by 140.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $77,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in WestRock in the third quarter valued at $27,593,000. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

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 transaction of $149,695.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.25. 1,823,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,868,743. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. WestRock has a twelve month low of $26.85 and a twelve month high of $49.67. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.03, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a positive return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.