International Paper (NYSE:IP) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

International Paper (NYSE:IP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.22 and last traded at $59.75, with a volume of 4362809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.63 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $29,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,802 shares in the company, valued at $1,969,402.96. The trade was a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,440 shares of company stock worth $944,540 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,788,000 after buying an additional 49,125 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC purchased a new position in International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,870,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in International Paper by 125.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in International Paper by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,704,000 after purchasing an additional 73,367 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.