Argus Increases WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Price Target to $57.00

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) had its target price hoisted by Argus from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Argus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 11.11% from the stock’s previous close.

WRK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WestRock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WestRock in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Five research 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 an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

WestRock Stock Performance

WRK traded up $0.14 on Monday, reaching $51.30. The company had a trading volume of 411,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,463. WestRock has a 1 year low of $26.85 and a 1 year high of $51.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.10.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 5.85%. WestRock’s quarterly revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that WestRock will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $149,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 92,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,939,844.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WestRock

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after purchasing an additional 7,139 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 125,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in WestRock by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 107,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after acquiring an additional 28,777 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in WestRock by 4,688.9% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 86,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,086,000 after buying an additional 84,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in WestRock during the third quarter valued at $1,614,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

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.