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

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) shares 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WRK. Truist Financial raised their target price on WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus raised their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on WestRock in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.75.

WestRock Stock Down 0.0 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.16 and a 200-day moving average of $46.77. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other WestRock news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other WestRock news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WestRock

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $4,584,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in WestRock by 70.4% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,825,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $65,342,000 after purchasing an additional 753,828 shares during the last quarter. KRYGER CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $55,228,000. Eisler Capital UK Ltd. acquired a new position in WestRock during the fourth quarter worth $9,961,000. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in WestRock by 442.5% during the fourth quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 253,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 206,565 shares during the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.