International Paper (NYSE:IP) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded International Paper from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the company from $31.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Argus lifted their price target on International Paper from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on International Paper from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on International Paper from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $38.82.

International Paper Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of IP opened at $34.06 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.60 and a 200 day moving average of $36.15. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $30.69 and a fifty-two week high of $50.23. The firm has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.35.

International Paper (NYSE:IP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.20 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 7.11%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th were given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. International Paper’s payout ratio is 45.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, SVP Aimee K. Gregg sold 1,862 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.05, for a total value of $67,125.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,573. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other International Paper news, SVP Timothy S. Nicholls sold 5,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.95, for a total value of $194,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 129,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,034,715.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Aimee K. Gregg sold 1,862 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.05, for a total value of $67,125.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,260 shares in the company, valued at $153,573. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 45.5% during the first quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 120,281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,165,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 2.5% during the third quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 12,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $411,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. 83.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About International Paper

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International Paper Co engages in the manufacture of paper and packaging products. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Packaging, Global Cellulose Fibers, and Printing Papers. The Industrial Packaging segment is involved in manufacturing containerboards, which include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.