Everence Capital Management Inc. Takes $828,000 Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IP. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in International Paper by 313.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 591 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.08, for a total value of $28,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,475.60. This represents a 1.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,400 shares of company stock valued at $129,696. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas lowered International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $52.85 on Friday. International Paper has a 52 week low of $32.70 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.94 and its 200 day moving average is $49.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

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.