International Paper (NYSE:IP) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

International Paper (NYSE:IP) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.22 and last traded at $59.75, with a volume of 4362809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.63 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,891.55. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,440 shares of company stock worth $944,540. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IP. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in International Paper by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 76,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,306,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in International Paper by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 112,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,854,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Company 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.