Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Reduces Stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in WestRock (NYSE:WRK) by 90.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,372 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 425,610 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in WestRock were worth $2,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of WestRock by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of WestRock by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,926,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WestRock by 268.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in WestRock by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 42,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,786,000 after purchasing an additional 13,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WestRock by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

WestRock Stock Up 3.5 %

WestRock stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,862,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,623,995. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. WestRock has a 52-week low of $27.86 and a 52-week high of $54.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.05.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.75.

WestRock 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.