Citigroup Increases International Paper (NYSE:IP) Price Target to $48.00

International Paper (NYSE:IP) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $43.00 to $48.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on IP. Loop Capital set a $61.00 price objective on International Paper in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $51.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America downgraded International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP stock traded down $2.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.03. The company had a trading volume of 3,851,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,783,407. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.44 and a beta of 0.94. International Paper has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $52.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 13.42%.The business had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IP. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 63,413,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,498,013,000 after buying an additional 14,422,616 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,832,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $584,270,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at $250,093,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,601,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $485,566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,417,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas FRM LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Atlas FRM LLC now owns 5,000,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $196,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,000 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting International Paper this week:

• Positive Sentiment: International Paper reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.04, exceeding the consensus estimate of a $0.04 loss. Adjusted EBITDA was $587 million, while operating cash flow reached $526 million. International Paper Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company insiders have reportedly made five open-market purchases during the past six months, including sizable purchases by CEO Andrew Silvernail and former CEO Christopher Connor. These transactions may signal management confidence in the stock’s long-term value.
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded its rating on International Paper, while the eight-analyst median price target was approximately $42.50. Targets ranged from $32 to $51, reflecting mixed expectations for the company’s recovery. International Paper Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue was approximately $6.0 billion, below analyst expectations of roughly $6.2 billion and down 11.3% year over year. Earnings also fell from $0.20 per share in the prior-year quarter, underscoring continued weakness in the business. International Paper Second-Quarter Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s outlook called for third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $780 million to $830 million and full-year EBITDA of $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. The lower profitability outlook likely outweighed the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: A temporary outage at the Pine Hill, Alabama, mill is expected to reduce third-quarter EBITDA by about $85 million before insurance recovery. High maintenance costs, macroeconomic headwinds, and higher input and freight expenses are also pressuring margins. IP Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Decline Year Over Year on High Maintenance Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have reduced their second- and third-quarter EPS estimates, reinforcing concerns that near-term earnings momentum remains weak.

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.