International Paper (NYSE:IP) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.89.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $36.51 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.08. International Paper has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $56.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently -29.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Tema ETFs LLC lifted its position in International Paper by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 10,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at about $612,000. Wealth Science Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at about $200,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 6.9% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 30,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 10.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.