International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.2455.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised International Paper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.98 per share, with a total value of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 76,092 shares of company stock valued at $2,999,064. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,357,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,535,058,000 after acquiring an additional 310,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in International Paper by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,498,013,000 after purchasing an additional 14,422,616 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in International Paper by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 204,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in International Paper by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,182,083,000 after purchasing an additional 397,673 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 81.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,663,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $34.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.54. International Paper has a 52 week low of $33.65 and a 52 week high of $56.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of -5.07 and a beta of 1.09.

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

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.