SPC Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in International Paper Company $IP

SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,019 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IP. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 65.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 11,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 4,560 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 6.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 58.4% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,146 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 13,332 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 190.1% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 44,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,358,000 after acquiring an additional 28,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 6.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 4,683 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on International Paper from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded International Paper from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on International Paper from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded International Paper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.58.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock opened at $45.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.17 and its 200-day moving average is $48.08. The company has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -458.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.96. International Paper Company has a 12 month low of $43.27 and a 12 month high of $60.36.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. International Paper had a positive return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 0.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,850.00%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other news, SVP Joseph R. Saab sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.53, for a total value of $409,770.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,951.69. This trade represents a 24.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.