IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $2.37 Million Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) by 28.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,113 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 634.2% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of WestRock by 56.1% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of WestRock during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WestRock Trading Down 0.5 %

WRK opened at $40.19 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.04. WestRock has a twelve month low of $38.28 and a twelve month high of $54.78.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The basic materials company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. WestRock had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

WestRock announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 25,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 24th. Investors of record on Friday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. WestRock’s payout ratio is 33.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of WestRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 18th. TheStreet cut shares of WestRock from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of WestRock from $44.00 to $36.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 1st. Citigroup cut shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of WestRock from $66.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

WestRock Company Profile

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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 two segments, Corrugated Packaging and Consumer Packaging. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.