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

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. They presently have a $41.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.87% from the company’s current price.

IP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group lowered 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. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on International Paper from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on International Paper from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, International Paper has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.89.

International Paper Stock Down 2.5%

IP opened at $36.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.10. The company has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of -5.81 and a beta of 0.94. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $56.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative net margin of 13.42% and a negative return on equity of 0.49%. The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 310,834 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 204,654 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 397,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $584,270,000 after buying 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 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.