International Paper (NYSE:IP) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

International Paper (NYSE:IP) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share.

International Paper Trading Up 0.8 %

IP traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,681,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,956,795. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.67. International Paper has a 12-month low of $29.00 and a 12-month high of $41.28. The company has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total value of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 8,800 shares of company stock worth $310,438 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 14th. Argus cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.13.

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.