Citigroup Cuts International Paper (NYSE:IP) Price Target to $44.00

International Paper (NYSE:IP) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $47.00 to $44.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on IP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.48.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $36.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.39 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.98. International Paper has a one year low of $33.57 and a one year high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. The business’s revenue was up 53.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other International Paper news, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.98 per share, with a total value of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson purchased 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 76,092 shares of company stock worth $2,999,064. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in International Paper by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 906,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,743,000 after acquiring an additional 22,984 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC increased its position in International Paper by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 61,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 22,761 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in International Paper by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 13,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in International Paper by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 69,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares during the period. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in International Paper during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About International Paper

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.