Amundi Raises Stock Position in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Amundi increased its International Paper stake by 30.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.02 million shares valued at approximately $72.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.95% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally favorable: International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75, although Bank of America downgraded the stock to neutral.
• The company’s quarterly EPS of $0.04 beat expectations, but revenue fell 11.3% year over year to $6 billion and profitability remained pressured. International Paper also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4625, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

Amundi grew its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,023,566 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 469,545 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.38% of International Paper worth $72,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in International Paper by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,535,058,000 after buying an additional 310,834 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,498,013,000 after acquiring an additional 14,422,616 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of International Paper by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,535,444 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,148,154,000 after acquiring an additional 204,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of International Paper by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,182,083,000 after acquiring an additional 397,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 81.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $584,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,986 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IP. Bank of America cut shares of International Paper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.75.

International Paper News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $48 and assigned a Buy rating, implying approximately 17% potential upside based on the referenced price. The call suggests confidence in containerboard pricing and International Paper’s longer-term recovery prospects. Benzinga analyst price target report
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.04, beating the consensus estimate of a $0.04 loss. Recent insider activity also showed five open-market purchases and no sales over the past six months, including purchases by the CEO and other executives. These factors may provide some support for investor confidence. International Paper second-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded International Paper’s stock rating, while other recent analyst targets have been mixed. Institutional positioning was also divided, with some large investors adding shares and others making substantial reductions. JPMorgan International Paper rating update
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue totaled $6.00 billion, below roughly $6.2 billion in expectations and down 11.3% year over year. The company reported a $12 million loss from continuing operations, negative free cash flow of $7 million, and reduced profitability expectations. Management projected full-year adjusted EBITDA of $3.20 billion to $3.40 billion and warned that a temporary Pine Hill, Alabama, mill closure will reduce third-quarter EBITDA by about $85 million. Higher maintenance, input and freight costs are adding further pressure. Zacks International Paper earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut estimates for second- and third-quarter EPS, reinforcing concerns that maintenance outages, macroeconomic headwinds and weaker profitability could outweigh the quarterly earnings beat. International Paper EPS forecast revision

International Paper Stock Performance

NYSE:IP opened at $41.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.04. International Paper Company has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $52.28.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The company had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. International Paper's quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper's payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

International Paper Profile

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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