International Paper (NYSE:IP) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America downgraded International Paper from buy to neutral and set a $41 price target, implying about 10.9% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment on IP is mixed: recent reports include upgrades and cuts, and MarketBeat says the stock currently carries an overall Hold rating with an average target price of $43.89.
• International Paper recently reported Q1 earnings of $0.15 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in slightly below expectations at $5.97 billion despite being up 13.4% year over year.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Tuesday. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the basic materials company's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 10.87% from the company's previous close.

IP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of International Paper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their price target on International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on International Paper from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on International Paper from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Paper has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.89.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $36.98 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.10. International Paper has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $56.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.81 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.International Paper's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in International Paper in the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 100.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 32,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 16,055 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 17,345 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 280.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 38,092 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,784,000 after buying an additional 28,092 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,580,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company's stock.

About International Paper

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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