International Paper Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 22,378 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 369% compared to the typical volume of 4,770 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,800 shares of company stock worth $310,438. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of International Paper by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 51,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 4.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in International Paper in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in International Paper by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 41,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Argus lowered International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock opened at $35.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14 and a beta of 0.99. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.00 and a 1 year high of $41.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.83.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. International Paper had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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.