Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 5,475 Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,475 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WestRock were worth $1,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 626 Financial LLC boosted its stake in WestRock by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. 626 Financial LLC now owns 18,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in WestRock by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in WestRock by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in WestRock by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,973 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WestRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 99,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.00.

WestRock Price Performance

NYSE:WRK opened at $47.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.57. WestRock has a 1-year low of $26.85 and a 1-year high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. WestRock’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total transaction of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.