Replies to post #206351 on $Pistol Pete$, $Mick$ & Friends Stock Picks /news,

[mick]

WestRock Company (WRK)
WestRock Company (WRK) is a leading integrated manufacturer of various corrugated and consumer packaging materials.

The company was formed through the 2015 merger between Rock-Tenn and MeadWestvaco.

With more than 320 manufacturing facilities across the world, WestRock Company has become one of the world’s largest producers of corrugated medium and linerboard. They sell these products to more than 15,000 customers.

Producing various paper products such as containerboard, folding cartons, and displays, the company’s packaging solutions are an integral part of end markets ranging from foodservice to healthcare.

E-commerce is obviously a huge trend in the US, and globally.

More and more people increasingly shop online.

Well, those products have to be packaged, boxed, and shipped – and this is a long-term tailwind for companies that produce quality packaging materials.

That’s a tailwind that’s on top of the usual demand for these materials.

In addition to this, developed countries are starting to move away from plastics.

You see this in everything from straws to bags to packaging.

This could be another long-term tailwind for paper companies that are all too happy to step in with their own solutions. The growing popularity of paper straws is a great example of this.

WestRock reports in three segments: Corrugated Packaging, 55% of FY 2018 sales; and Consumer Packaging, 44%. The third segment, Land & Development, is immaterial and will cease to exist in FY 2019.

This isn’t the kind of company you think of when you go about your daily life.

You might not ever notice their logo.

But their products show up practically everywhere.

The box your tub of toothpaste came in. The cardboard your ice cream from the grocery store is housed in. The neat container that holds your french fries when you swing through a drive-thru for afternoon lunch.

Again, the products are all around us.

This ubiquity screams one thing to me.

Growing dividends!

As it sits, the company has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

That track record actually predates the aforementioned merger.

If you want to look at the post-merger record, WestRock’s first official dividend increase in its current iteration occurred in 2016.

Regardless, the company is clearly committed to a big and growing dividend.