Westrock said on January 27, 2023 that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share ($1.10 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 9, 2023 will receive the payment on February 22, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.28 per share.

At the current share price of $37.40 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 2.94%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.21%, the lowest has been 1.39%, and the highest has been 8.26%. The standard deviation of yields is 1.36 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.20 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.30. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is -0.41%.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 10.32% Upside

As of January 31, 2023, the average one-year price target for Westrock is $41.26. The forecasts range from a low of $27.78 to a high of $63.00. The average price target represents an increase of 10.32% from its latest reported closing price of $37.40.

The projected annual revenue for Westrock is $21,511MM, an increase of 1.20%. The projected annual EPS is $3.92, an increase of 7.70%.

Fund Sentiment

There are 1267 funds or institutions reporting positions in Westrock. This is a decrease of 8 owner(s) or 0.63%.

Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to US:WRK is 0.1934%, a decrease of 16.4233%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 2.99% to 238,384K shares.

What are large shareholders doing?

Greenhaven Associates holds 9,934,524 shares representing 3.90% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 9,946,624 shares, representing a decrease of 0.12%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WRK by 4.07% over the last quarter.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 7,603,767 shares representing 2.99% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 7,514,085 shares, representing an increase of 1.18%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WRK by 18.21% over the last quarter.

Nordea Investment Management Ab holds 6,114,961 shares representing 2.40% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 6,315,348 shares, representing a decrease of 3.28%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WRK by 15.30% over the last quarter.

Pictet Asset Management holds 6,098,335 shares representing 2.40% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 7,511,127 shares, representing a decrease of 23.17%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WRK by 64.41% over the last quarter.

Price T Rowe Associates holds 5,923,063 shares representing 2.33% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 5,303,605 shares, representing an increase of 10.46%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in WRK by 49.96% over the last quarter.

WestRock Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

WestRock (NYSE: WRK) partners with our customers to provide differentiated paper and packaging solutions that help them win in the marketplace. WestRock’s team members support customers around the world from locations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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