5,315 Shares in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Bought by Harbor Advisors LLC

Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 2.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,757,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in WestRock by 11.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,696,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,549,000 after acquiring an additional 275,033 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WestRock by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,552,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,379,000 after buying an additional 78,818 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,269,375 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of WestRock by 70.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,342,000 after buying an additional 753,828 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WestRock stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.10. 2,112,124 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,121,753. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.02, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.08. 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 (NYSE:WRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. WestRock’s payout ratio is -18.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Seaport Res Ptn cut WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on WestRock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.