Inspire Investing LLC Raises Position in International Paper Company $IP

Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in International Paper by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 14,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in International Paper by 2,343.9% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,613 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new position in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $317,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in International Paper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of International Paper by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 553,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,526,000 after purchasing an additional 176,991 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,951.69. The trade was a 24.54% 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. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock opened at $45.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $24.20 billion, a PE ratio of -458.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.04. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $43.27 and a twelve month high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently -1,850.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of International Paper from $42.10 to $40.40 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.06.

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.