WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Reaches New 1-Year High at $52.13

WestRock (NYSE:WRK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.13 and last traded at $51.90, with a volume of 2158553 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRK. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

WestRock Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. WestRock’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.68%.

Insider Activity at WestRock

In related news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction 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 owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,165 shares of company stock valued at $1,007,346 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of WestRock by 7.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after acquiring an additional 7,139 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the 3rd quarter worth $1,614,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in WestRock by 1.9% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 59,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,120,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in WestRock by 582.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 249,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,942,000 after acquiring an additional 213,186 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in WestRock by 14.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is owned by 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.