Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 296,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,398 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $15,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. FMR LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370,273 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in International Paper by 511.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484,386 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in International Paper by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,019,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,632 shares during the last quarter. Hill City Capital LP raised its stake in International Paper by 287.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hill City Capital LP now owns 1,550,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in International Paper by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,006,000 after acquiring an additional 537,825 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on IP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price (down from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America assumed coverage on International Paper in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.86.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $51.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.41. International Paper has a 1-year low of $33.16 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.83%.

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.