Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Has $214.81 Million Position in International Paper Company $IP

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,453,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,255 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $214,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 332,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,419,000 after acquiring an additional 26,146 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth $2,340,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth $4,853,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth $1,181,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,348,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $108,955,000 after acquiring an additional 259,371 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In other news, Director Scott Tozier acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, for a total transaction of $313,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,782.50. The trade was a 40,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.83 per share, for a total transaction of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at $987,060.36. This trade represents a 102.66% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 36,092 shares of company stock worth $1,313,064 over the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on IP. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of International Paper from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.73.

International Paper Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE IP opened at $31.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 0.93. International Paper Company has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $56.13. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $34.48 and its 200-day moving average is $38.73.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.03). International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The business had revenue of $5.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that International Paper Company will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. International Paper’s payout ratio is currently -29.09%.

International Paper 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.