International Paper’s (IP) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $64.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down previously from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.88.

International Paper Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of IP stock opened at $55.65 on Friday. International Paper has a 52-week low of $32.70 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.56 and a beta of 1.03.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. Research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

Insider Activity

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $35,034.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IP. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $871,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370,273 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,368,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $407,463,000 after purchasing an additional 99,720 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,867,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in International Paper by 19.5% during the third 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 buying an additional 537,825 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.