Equities analysts expect WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) to announce $1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Five analysts have provided estimates for WestRock’s earnings, with the lowest EPS estimate coming in at $1.45 and the highest estimate coming in at $1.54. WestRock posted earnings per share of $1.00 in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 49%. The business is scheduled to announce its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.
On average, analysts expect that WestRock will report full-year earnings of $5.11 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $5.00 to $5.22. For the next year, analysts anticipate that the company will report earnings of $5.59 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.55 to $6.15. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for WestRock.
WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.16. WestRock had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The company had revenue of $5.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. WestRock’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
WRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of WestRock from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 18th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of WestRock from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WestRock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.13.
Shares of WestRock stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,482,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,773,052. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.58. The firm has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. WestRock has a 12-month low of $40.78 and a 12-month high of $59.77.
WestRock announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 25,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. WestRock’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.78%.
In related news, insider Thomas Stigers sold 15,000 shares of WestRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.10, for a total value of $751,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 88,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,410,503.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its position in WestRock by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 51,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,575,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in WestRock by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 35,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in WestRock by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in WestRock by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 49,010 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. 84.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About WestRock (Get Rating)
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.