MCF Advisors LLC Acquires 624 Shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP)

MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1,094.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. StrategIQ Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 4th quarter worth about $2,271,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after acquiring an additional 4,960,005 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in International Paper during the 1st quarter worth about $1,312,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 1,437.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 293,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,615,000 after acquiring an additional 274,542 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of International Paper from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.71.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of International Paper stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $43.15. 11,239,874 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,787,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.68. International Paper has a 1 year low of $30.78 and a 1 year high of $47.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a PE ratio of 88.10 and a beta of 1.06.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 377.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total transaction of $26,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,027,453.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 3,600 shares of company stock valued at $144,744 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Profile

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.