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WestRock (WRK) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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WestRock closed the most recent trading day at $41.10, moving -0.46% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.13%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.26%.

Coming into today, shares of the paper and packaging company had lost 8.02% in the past month. In that same time, the Basic Materials sector lost 6.58%, while the S&P 500 lost 8.32%.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from WestRock as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect WestRock to post earnings of $1.49 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 49%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $5.51 billion, up 14.41% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.11 per share and revenue of $21.4 billion. These totals would mark changes of +50.74% and +14.17%, respectively, from last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WestRock. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. WestRock is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Investors should also note WestRock's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.07. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.19.

It is also worth noting that WRK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.37. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Paper and Related Products industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.37 as of yesterday's close.

The Paper and Related Products industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 21, putting it in the top 9% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow WRK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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