Front Street Capital Management Inc. Makes New $26.49 Million Investment in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Front Street Capital Management acquired 695,215 shares of International Paper worth approximately $26.49 million, making IP about 3% of its portfolio and its 13th-largest holding.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: IP has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 14 analysts, with an average price target of $48.75; JPMorgan and Truist recently upgraded or raised their targets.
• International Paper beat quarterly EPS estimates but reported an 11.3% year-over-year revenue decline. The company maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.4625, equivalent to a 4.5% annualized yield.

Front Street Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 695,215 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $26,488,000. International Paper comprises approximately 3.0% of Front Street Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Front Street Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of International Paper at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in International Paper during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in International Paper during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on IP. Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of International Paper from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $41.03 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.90. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. International Paper's revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. International Paper's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -28.37%.

International Paper Company 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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