Bridgefront Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 8,269 WestRock (NYSE:WRK)

Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WRK. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of WestRock by 14.7% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 39,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after acquiring an additional 5,108 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in WestRock by 21.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 71,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after buying an additional 12,559 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 5.1% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 35,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 0.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 208,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WestRock by 0.6% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 53,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on WestRock in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus downgraded WestRock from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on WestRock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WestRock from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on WestRock from $39.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.29.

WestRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WRK opened at $27.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.90. WestRock has a 52 week low of $26.98 and a 52 week high of $54.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.20.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.05). WestRock had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that WestRock will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. WestRock’s payout ratio is 35.03%.

WestRock Profile

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WestRock Co engages in the provision of sustainable fiber-based paper and packaging solutions. It operates through the following segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment consists of the sale of corrugated containers and other corrugated products including displays.