WestRock (NYSE:WRK) PT Raised to $51.00 at Truist Financial

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Truist Financial from $42.00 to $51.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential downside of 1.56% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on WestRock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. 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. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WestRock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

WestRock Stock Performance

WRK stock opened at $51.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.11. The company has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10. WestRock has a 1-year low of $26.85 and a 1-year high of $52.07.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 60,491 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,471.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total transaction of $499,162.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,165 shares of company stock worth $1,007,346 over the last 90 days. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WestRock

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 7.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after buying an additional 7,139 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in WestRock by 4,688.9% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 86,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 84,400 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in WestRock in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,614,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in WestRock by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 59,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its position in WestRock by 582.7% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 249,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 213,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% 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.