Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRK. Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in WestRock in the 3rd quarter worth $61,378,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in WestRock in the 3rd quarter worth $59,428,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in WestRock by 6,024.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,290,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,632 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of WestRock by 140.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,173,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,826,000 after buying an additional 1,269,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WestRock during the third quarter worth $27,593,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WRK. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of WestRock in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WestRock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at WestRock

In other WestRock news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,939,844.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WestRock Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WRK opened at $47.49 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. WestRock has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $49.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.16.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). WestRock had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 6.87%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a $0.3025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. WestRock’s payout ratio is currently -18.01%.

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.