International Paper (NYSE:IP) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

IP has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on International Paper from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on International Paper from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. UBS Group raised International Paper from a sell rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of International Paper from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.82.

International Paper Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $34.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.07. International Paper has a 12 month low of $30.69 and a 12 month high of $50.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $37.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.15.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in International Paper by 165.8% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN bought a new position in International Paper during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in International Paper by 133.4% during the 4th quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.