International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• International Paper Company has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with three selling, four holding, and seven buying recommendations among fourteen brokerages.
• The company recently reported $0.20 earnings per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.38, but achieved revenue of $6.77 billion, surpassing estimates of $6.64 billion.
• International Paper has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.4625 per share to be paid on December 16th, yielding approximately 3.9% for shareholders of record on November 14th.

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.8545.

A number of research firms have commented on IP. Stifel Nicolaus set a $57.80 target price on International Paper and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of International Paper from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $42.10 to $40.40 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

International Paper Stock Up 2.9%

IP stock opened at $47.94 on Tuesday. 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 moving average price is $47.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.82. International Paper has a 52 week low of $43.27 and a 52 week high of $60.36. The company has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -479.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.10.

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

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. International Paper's payout ratio is -1,850.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. This represents a 24.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in International Paper by 2.1% in the second quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,357 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 7,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,994 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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