Farringdon Capital Ltd. Purchases New Shares in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 13,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of International Paper by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,195,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,217,119,000 after acquiring an additional 340,383 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in International Paper by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,429,449,000 after purchasing an additional 8,720,575 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of International Paper by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,393,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $450,586,000 after purchasing an additional 24,816 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,370,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $181,410,000 after purchasing an additional 74,759 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth about $109,201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Down 1.1 %

IP opened at $46.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.08. International Paper has a one year low of $33.16 and a one year high of $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.61.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. Equities research analysts expect that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IP shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on International Paper in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.32.

International Paper 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.