International Paper Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.4625 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%.

International Paper has decreased its dividend by an average of 2.6% per year over the last three years. International Paper has a payout ratio of 47.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect International Paper to earn $3.03 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.1%.

International Paper Stock Down 0.3 %

International Paper stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,894,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,968,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. International Paper has a 12 month low of $32.70 and a 12 month high of $60.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.35. The company has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.51 and a beta of 1.03.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas lowered shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total value of $33,714.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,891.55. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,800 shares of company stock worth $100,848 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.