International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.7462.

A number of brokerages recently commented on IP. Wall Street Zen upgraded International Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Bank of America lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. This trade represents a 18.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in International Paper during the second quarter worth approximately $1,940,896,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at approximately $689,498,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of International Paper by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares in the last quarter. Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $374,904,000,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $584,270,000 after buying an additional 6,663,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP opened at $41.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.37 and a beta of 0.94. International Paper has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $50.25.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -28.37%.

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.