Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts International Paper (NYSE:IP) Price Target to $48.00

International Paper (NYSE:IP) had its target price cut by Royal Bank Of Canada from $54.00 to $48.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on IP. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.48.

International Paper Stock Up 2.6%

International Paper stock opened at $37.15 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.88. International Paper has a twelve month low of $33.57 and a twelve month high of $56.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.36). International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.02) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other news, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.98 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 76,092 shares of company stock worth $2,999,064 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,535,058,000 after purchasing an additional 310,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in International Paper by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,535,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,148,154,000 after acquiring an additional 204,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,182,083,000 after acquiring an additional 397,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $584,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Company Profile

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.