WestRock (NYSE:WRK) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.
A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WRK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $58.00 to $59.00 in a report on Monday, April 19th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WestRock from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WestRock from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 10th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of WestRock from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $53.42.
Shares of WRK stock opened at $58.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.57. WestRock has a 52 week low of $24.98 and a 52 week high of $62.03.
WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.51 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 4.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 18th. This is an increase from WestRock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. WestRock’s payout ratio is 20.10%.
In other news, insider Jeffrey Wayne Chalovich sold 19,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.23, for a total value of $1,004,108.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 123,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,336,843.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 52.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,547,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,485,912,000 after buying an additional 9,777,300 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in WestRock by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,858,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $995,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340,655 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in WestRock by 21.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,912,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $307,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter worth $204,694,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter worth $147,964,000. 80.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
WestRock Company Profile
WestRock Company manufactures and sells paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging segments. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards for sale to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.
Recommended Story: Overbought