StockNews.com Begins Coverage on WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in a research report released on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WRK. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. 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 report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.75.

WestRock Price Performance

WestRock stock opened at $51.51 on Thursday. WestRock has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.36 and a 200-day moving average of $48.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in WestRock by 268.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in WestRock by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in WestRock during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in WestRock during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.