Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in International Paper in the 1st quarter worth about $162,427,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 212.9% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 4,504,355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $162,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,064,645 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in International Paper by 44.0% during the first quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,517,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $307,149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,602,405 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in International Paper in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,530,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in International Paper by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 36,929,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,331,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $34.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.72. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $42.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.59.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 5.14% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Allison B. Magness sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $104,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,496.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 2,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.70, for a total value of $89,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,219 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,418.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Allison B. Magness sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.75, for a total value of $104,775.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,496.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IP. Bank of America downgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $38.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of International Paper from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, August 18th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on International Paper from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.82.

International Paper Profile

International Paper Company produces renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers segment. The company's Industrial Packaging segment manufactures containerboards, including linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.