Royal Bank of Canada Sells 415,043 Shares of International Paper Company $IP

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 21.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,510,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 415,043 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.29% of International Paper worth $53,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in International Paper by 144.2% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 258,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,199,000 after purchasing an additional 152,907 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in International Paper by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 137,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,921,000 after buying an additional 31,518 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the 4th quarter worth $1,539,000. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in International Paper by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 374,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,765,000 after buying an additional 42,541 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the fourth quarter worth $250,093,000. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about International Paper

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 Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of NYSE IP opened at $41.03 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $52.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.88 and its 200 day moving average is $38.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -29.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Wall Street Zen raised shares of International Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America downgraded shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

About International Paper

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.