Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock Price

International Paper (NYSE:IP) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $56.00 to $64.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on IP. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.96.

International Paper Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of IP traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $55.77. The company had a trading volume of 10,454,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,342,824. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.92. The stock has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $56.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.54 EPS 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 given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 151.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total transaction of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,296.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,729.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,440 shares of company stock valued at $938,486. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of International Paper by 133.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of International Paper by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $824,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth about $119,012,000. Samlyn Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,966,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter worth about $81,187,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

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.