Empowered Funds LLC Increases Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in International Paper Company by 306.3% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 116,393 shares, raising its total holdings to 154,387 shares valued at approximately $8.24 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 81.95% of International Paper's stock, with notable increases from several firms, including Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC, which raised its stake by 93.5%.
• International Paper reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.20, below the consensus estimate of $0.38, despite revenue growth of 42.9% year-over-year, totaling $6.77 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) by 306.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 116,393 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in International Paper were worth $8,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IP. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in International Paper by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 116,406 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,265,000 after purchasing an additional 4,555 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 93.5% during the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 139,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,518,000 after purchasing an additional 67,503 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 429,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,129,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 13,793 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $59.00 price objective on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.65.

International Paper Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE IP traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $46.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,883,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,470,695. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $43.27 and a 52-week high of $60.36. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $49.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.97. The firm has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -460.10, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05.

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

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,850.00%.

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.