International Paper to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.4625 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%.

International Paper has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 2.6% per year over the last three years. International Paper has a payout ratio of 47.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect International Paper to earn $3.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.1%.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $59.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.51 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,891.55. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,800 shares of company stock valued at $100,848. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.99.

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.