UBS Group Begins Coverage on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $60.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on IP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $47.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a 1 year low of $41.50 and a 1 year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 4.75%. The business’s revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. International Paper’s payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total transaction of $336,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,896.25. This trade represents a 19.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,340,966,000 after buying an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of International Paper by 68.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,609,462,000 after buying an additional 12,191,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,429,449,000 after buying an additional 8,720,575 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of International Paper by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,763,426,000 after buying an additional 4,201,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of International Paper by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $914,712,000 after buying an additional 2,782,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

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.