International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Receives $55.03 Average PT from Brokerages

Key Points

• International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) has received an average analyst rating of "Hold", with two analysts recommending a sell, two a hold, and five a buy.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $0.20, falling short of expectations by $0.18, while revenue was higher than anticipated at $6.77 billion.
• International Paper declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share, providing an annual yield of 4.0%, with the payout ratio standing at a notably high -1,850.00%.

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.0250.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial set a $59.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of International Paper from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday.

International Paper Trading Up 3.9%

IP traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,358,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,396,296. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $49.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -481.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a 1-year low of $43.27 and a 1-year high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The business had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. International Paper's revenue was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. International Paper's payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in International Paper by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,623,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,340,966,000 after acquiring an additional 21,428,455 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in International Paper by 8.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,201,422 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of International Paper by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,609,462,000 after purchasing an additional 12,191,361 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 9.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $877,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in 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 valued at $481,203,000 after buying an additional 1,590,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

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.