International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.2455.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on IP shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of International Paper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group cut shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $51.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on International Paper from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

International Paper Trading Up 0.8%

International Paper stock opened at $43.47 on Monday. International Paper has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $57.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.48 and a beta of 1.09.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.36). International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.12% and a negative return on equity of 0.35%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 53.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.98 per share, with a total value of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 0.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 29.4% during the fourth 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in International Paper by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 204,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in International Paper by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,009,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,182,083,000 after acquiring an additional 397,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $877,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592,411 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.