WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 932,965 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 2,364,770 shares.The stock last traded at $49.07 and had previously closed at $49.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WRK. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

WestRock Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.24 and its 200 day moving average is $46.83. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 2.02 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is 101.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total transaction of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WestRock

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRK. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of WestRock by 5.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 88,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,541 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in WestRock by 10.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in WestRock by 62.4% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 28,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 10,779 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in WestRock by 0.6% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 256,638 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in WestRock by 2.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,954,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,757,000 after acquiring an additional 74,185 shares during the period. 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.