Empowered Funds LLC Buys Shares of 25,717 International Paper Company $IP

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 25,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,640,000. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in International Paper by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 258,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,199,000 after buying an additional 152,907 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in International Paper by 29.6% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 137,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,921,000 after buying an additional 31,518 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the first quarter worth about $2,615,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in International Paper during the fourth quarter worth about $250,093,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total transaction of $146,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This represents a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at $4,406,422.40. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

International Paper Trading Up 2.6%

IP stock opened at $37.38 on Friday. International Paper Company has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $50.25. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of -5.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative net margin of 14.20% and a negative return on equity of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently -28.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of International Paper from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of International Paper from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $61.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

International Paper Company 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.