International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock Rating Lowered by BNP Paribas

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was downgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $48.20 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. BNP Paribas’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 15.33% from the stock’s previous close.

IP has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of IP opened at $56.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $49.96 and a 200-day moving average of $46.27. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $59.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,457.50. The trade was a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,840 shares of company stock worth $910,826 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $824,716,000 after acquiring an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 88.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 133.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,867,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Paper Company Profile

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.