International Paper (NYSE:IP) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of International Paper in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.86.

International Paper Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $52.71 on Wednesday. International Paper has a 52-week low of $33.16 and a 52-week high of $60.36. The company has a market capitalization of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.49.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 4.75%. Sell-side analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,609,462,000 after acquiring an additional 12,191,361 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,429,449,000 after acquiring an additional 8,720,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 511.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $145,106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484,386 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,235,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $206,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,948,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $212,522,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,762 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.