Unison Advisors LLC Has $2.45 Million Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Unison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 1.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 56,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $2,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in International Paper by 1,094.7% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in International Paper by 208.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Paper in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 309.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.11, for a total transaction of $27,066.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,864.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,600 shares of company stock valued at $157,386. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of International Paper stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.35. 2,214,518 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,746,971. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.51 and a beta of 1.06. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $47.40.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 377.55%.

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.