Westrock Co (NYSE:WRK) Director Sells 41,206 Shares

Westrock Co (NYSE:WRK) Director John A. Luke, Jr. sold 41,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.64, for a total value of $1,674,611.84.

Shares of Westrock stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.23. 2,546,799 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,458,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.63. Westrock Co has a 12-month low of $31.94 and a 12-month high of $46.59. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.44.

Westrock (NYSE:WRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.05. Westrock had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Westrock Co will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Westrock’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Westrock’s payout ratio is presently 46.73%.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC bought a new position in Westrock during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Westrock by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Westrock by 154.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Westrock during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westrock during the second quarter worth $48,000. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WRK. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Westrock from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of Westrock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. ValuEngine downgraded Westrock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Westrock from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Westrock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.70.

Westrock Company Profile

WestRock Company manufactures and sells paper and packaging solutions for the consumer and corrugated markets in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates through three segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, and Land and Development. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards for consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.