Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 15,265 call options on the company. This is an increase of 334% compared to the typical volume of 3,514 call options.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Monday, reaching $36.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,135,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,023,105. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $56.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.77 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.60 and its 200-day moving average is $38.29.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The business had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on IP shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. This represents a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

About International Paper

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.