International Paper (NYSE:IP) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $57.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $38.00.

IP has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from an underperform rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Argus downgraded International Paper from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $42.14.

International Paper Price Performance

IP opened at $45.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.54. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $46.10. The firm has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.78 and a beta of 1.01.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 377.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In related news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,400 shares of company stock valued at $334,570. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in International Paper by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,376,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 27,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 87,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.