Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup raised International Paper’s price target from $43 to $48 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 17% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: International Paper has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average target price of $48.75, despite some conflicting downgrades and sell ratings.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.04 versus a projected $0.04 loss, but revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $6 billion. High maintenance costs, a mill outage, and weaker profitability guidance continue to pressure the outlook.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $43.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Citigroup's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.99% from the stock's previous close.

IP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America downgraded International Paper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.75.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.03. The stock had a trading volume of 3,851,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,783,407. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.02. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $52.28. The stock has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.20 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. International Paper's revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC increased its stake in International Paper by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 10,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $612,000. Wealth Science Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 6.9% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 30,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in International Paper by 10.9% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

More International Paper News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Paper this week:

• Positive Sentiment: International Paper reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.04, exceeding the consensus estimate of a $0.04 loss. Adjusted EBITDA was $587 million, while operating cash flow reached $526 million. International Paper Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company insiders have reportedly made five open-market purchases during the past six months, including sizable purchases by CEO Andrew Silvernail and former CEO Christopher Connor. These transactions may signal management confidence in the stock’s long-term value.
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded its rating on International Paper, while the eight-analyst median price target was approximately $42.50. Targets ranged from $32 to $51, reflecting mixed expectations for the company’s recovery. International Paper Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue was approximately $6.0 billion, below analyst expectations of roughly $6.2 billion and down 11.3% year over year. Earnings also fell from $0.20 per share in the prior-year quarter, underscoring continued weakness in the business. International Paper Second-Quarter Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook called for third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $780 million to $830 million and full-year EBITDA of $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. The lower profitability outlook likely outweighed the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: A temporary outage at the Pine Hill, Alabama, mill is expected to reduce third-quarter EBITDA by about $85 million before insurance recovery. High maintenance costs, macroeconomic headwinds, and higher input and freight expenses are also pressuring margins. IP Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Decline Year Over Year on High Maintenance Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have reduced their second- and third-quarter EPS estimates, reinforcing concerns that near-term earnings momentum remains weak.

About International Paper

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.

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