Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 9.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 304,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,839 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $14,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of International Paper by 9.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,737,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $877,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,411 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in International Paper by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,323,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,819,000 after purchasing an additional 205,888 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new stake in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at $317,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in International Paper in the second quarter valued at about $604,000. Finally, Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the second quarter worth about $2,342,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other International Paper news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total transaction of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

International Paper Trading Up 0.6%

IP opened at $39.35 on Thursday. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $60.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of -393.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.69.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.96). The company had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.International Paper’s revenue was up 56.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently -70.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on IP shares. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, August 28th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of International Paper from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of International Paper from $55.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.62.

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.