Atom Investors LP Purchases New Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 40,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,991,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $871,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 133.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 125.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,921,000 after buying an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 0.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,579,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,867,000 after buying an additional 9,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in International Paper by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,295,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,006,000 after buying an additional 537,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $35,034.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,896.55. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 2,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.30, for a total value of $115,412.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,996.40. This represents a 11.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,040 shares of company stock worth $540,104. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:IP opened at $58.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.96 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a 1-year low of $32.70 and a 1-year high of $60.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is presently 158.12%.

About International Paper

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.