International Paper’s (IP) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Argus

International Paper (NYSE:IP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Argus in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $45.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Argus’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 29.25% from the stock’s previous close.

IP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of International Paper from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.82.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $34.82. The company had a trading volume of 745,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,297,232. The firm has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of -5.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. International Paper has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $50.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.46.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,046.08. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $1,009,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 106,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,406,422.40. This represents a 18.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 14,422,616 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in International Paper by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 54,535,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,148,154,000 after purchasing an additional 204,654 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in International Paper in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,940,896,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in International Paper by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,999,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,257,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of International Paper during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $689,498,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About International Paper

International Paper Company (NYSE: IP) is a global producer of sustainable packaging and paper-based products. The company manufactures containerboard, corrugated packaging, and other fiber-based packaging solutions used to transport and protect goods across a range of industries. Its offerings also include absorbent pulp and cellulose fibers used in products such as diapers, hygiene items, and other consumer and industrial applications.

Founded in 1898, International Paper has grown through the development and operation of paper mills, packaging facilities, and related manufacturing assets.