Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $25.40 Million Stake in International Paper Company $IP

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 711,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,829 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $25,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IP. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in International Paper by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Stock Performance

NYSE IP opened at $36.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.70 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.01. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $56.13.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on International Paper from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on International Paper from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Scott Tozier purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,782.50. The trade was a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.