HBK Investments L P Takes Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in International Paper by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,788,000 after purchasing an additional 49,125 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter worth $4,870,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after buying an additional 2,354,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of International Paper by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,704,000 after buying an additional 73,367 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Argus upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total transaction of $115,412.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,996.40. This represents a 11.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,729.36. The trade was a 22.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock worth $505,070 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE IP opened at $58.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a 12 month low of $32.70 and a 12 month high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is 158.12%.

About International Paper

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.