Stance Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Key Points

• Stance Capital LLC recently acquired a stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP), purchasing 76,305 shares valued at approximately $4.07 million, making it the fund's 12th largest position.
• International Paper reported a loss per share of $0.20 in its latest earnings, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38, while revenue rose by 42.9% year-over-year to $6.77 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, which represents an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of -1,850%.

Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 76,305 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,071,000. International Paper makes up approximately 2.9% of Stance Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 52.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,340,966,000 after purchasing an additional 21,428,455 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 8.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,798,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,763,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 19.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,145,485 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $914,712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,782,042 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 21.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,019,743 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $481,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 1.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,040,128 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $428,941,000 after purchasing an additional 85,732 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Zacks Research cut shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.65.

International Paper Stock Down 0.7%

International Paper stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.54. The company had a trading volume of 4,066,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,261,495. The stock has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -465.40, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. International Paper Company has a 1 year low of $43.27 and a 1 year high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.67 and a 200 day moving average of $49.16.

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

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. International Paper's payout ratio is presently -1,850.00%.

International Paper 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.