Brokerages Set International Paper (NYSE:IP) Price Target at $44.71

Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $44.71.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IP. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Argus cut shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total transaction of $26,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,479 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,453.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $117,678. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the third quarter valued at about $1,164,000. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,271,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $471,065,000 after purchasing an additional 4,960,005 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 1,437.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 293,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,615,000 after purchasing an additional 274,542 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 164,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,961,000 after purchasing an additional 8,933 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $44.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $15.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.61 and a beta of 1.06. International Paper has a 52-week low of $30.23 and a 52-week high of $46.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.73.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently 377.55%.

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.