Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 224 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in International Paper in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in International Paper in the third quarter worth $40,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $32,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,457.50. The trade was a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $910,826 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock opened at $57.58 on Monday. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $31.76 and a fifty-two week high of $59.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.21 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. International Paper’s payout ratio is 158.12%.

International Paper 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.