Twin Capital Management Inc. Has $2.42 Million Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WRK shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on WestRock from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of WestRock in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vicki L. Lostetter sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.77, for a total value of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of WRK stock opened at $47.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.83. WestRock has a twelve month low of $26.85 and a twelve month high of $49.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WestRock will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.01%.

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.