Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Decreases Position in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in International Paper Company by 1.5%, now holding 1,486,102 shares, which represents 1.7% of its overall portfolio.
• International Paper reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.20, which missed analysts' expectations of $0.38, but saw a 42.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings for International Paper, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.46.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,486,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 23,108 shares during the quarter. International Paper makes up 1.7% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.28% of International Paper worth $79,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in International Paper by 2.0% in the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 14,074 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in International Paper by 2,343.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,613 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in International Paper by 2.6% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in International Paper by 37.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,378 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 6,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in International Paper by 3.5% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 49,320 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $48.98. The stock had a trading volume of 3,211,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,879,371. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $43.27 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $49.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of -489.80, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.04.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.18). International Paper had a negative net margin of 0.12% and a positive return on equity of 2.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,850.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on IP. Wall Street Zen raised International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.65.

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.