Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Position in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in International Paper during Q1, buying 26,900 shares worth about $960,000.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other large investors holding about 81.95% of the company’s shares; several big firms increased stakes in the latest filings.
• International Paper reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, but also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 for a 4.8% annualized yield. Analyst sentiment is still generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a $43.73 target price.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,900 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut International Paper from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded International Paper from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.73.

International Paper Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $38.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.10 and a beta of 0.94. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $56.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.15.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. International Paper's payout ratio is -29.09%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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