Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 42,363 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 439% compared to the average daily volume of 7,862 call options.

International Paper Trading Up 6.0 %

IP stock opened at $44.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.44. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.12 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.06). International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 377.55%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,400 shares of company stock worth $334,570. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $824,716,000 after buying an additional 5,492,035 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter worth $144,509,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,082,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth $94,913,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Argus cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.14.

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.