International Paper (NYSE:IP) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $41.03 on Friday. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $52.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

Institutional Trading of International Paper

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the 1st quarter valued at about $249,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 100.5% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 32,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 20.8% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 17,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,981 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 280.9% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 38,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 28,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in International Paper by 8.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Key International Paper News

Here are the key news stories impacting International Paper this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $48 and assigned a Buy rating, implying approximately 17% potential upside based on the referenced price. The call suggests confidence in containerboard pricing and International Paper’s longer-term recovery prospects. Benzinga analyst price target report
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $0.04, beating the consensus estimate of a $0.04 loss. Recent insider activity also showed five open-market purchases and no sales over the past six months, including purchases by the CEO and other executives. These factors may provide some support for investor confidence. International Paper second-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded International Paper’s stock rating, while other recent analyst targets have been mixed. Institutional positioning was also divided, with some large investors adding shares and others making substantial reductions. JPMorgan International Paper rating update
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue totaled $6.00 billion, below roughly $6.2 billion in expectations and down 11.3% year over year. The company reported a $12 million loss from continuing operations, negative free cash flow of $7 million, and reduced profitability expectations. Management projected full-year adjusted EBITDA of $3.20 billion to $3.40 billion and warned that a temporary Pine Hill, Alabama, mill closure will reduce third-quarter EBITDA by about $85 million. Higher maintenance, input and freight costs are adding further pressure. Zacks International Paper earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cut estimates for second- and third-quarter EPS, reinforcing concerns that maintenance outages, macroeconomic headwinds and weaker profitability could outweigh the quarterly earnings beat. International Paper EPS forecast revision

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.