International Paper (NYSE:IP) CAO Sells 3,500 Shares

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) CAO Holly Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This trade represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,250,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,777,302. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.00. The company has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.50 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. International Paper Company has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $50.25.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. International Paper’s revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. International Paper’s payout ratio is -28.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in International Paper by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in International Paper by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in International Paper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in International Paper by 1.3% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Research Partners upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on International Paper in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

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.