CapWealth Advisors LLC Has $7.29 Million Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

CapWealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 27,550 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of WestRock worth $7,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 626 Financial LLC lifted its holdings in WestRock by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. 626 Financial LLC now owns 18,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 2.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 3.6% in the first quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 9.3% in the second quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WestRock by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. 83.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 92,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Price Performance

Shares of WRK stock traded up $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $47.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 680,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,344. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.53 and its 200-day moving average is $41.79. WestRock has a fifty-two week low of $26.85 and a fifty-two week high of $49.67.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WRK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of WestRock in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.40.

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.