International Paper (NYSE:IP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

International Paper (NYSE:IP) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.71.

Several brokerages recently commented on IP. Jefferies Financial Group raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup raised International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $46.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th.

International Paper Price Performance

IP opened at $43.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.44. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $30.78 and a fifty-two week high of $47.40. The firm has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.78 and a beta of 1.06.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.93%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 377.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $27,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,402 shares in the company, valued at $1,957,864.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,600 shares of company stock valued at $147,054. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in International Paper by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in International Paper by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of International Paper by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 27,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.2% during the first quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.