North Dakota State Investment Board Takes Position in International Paper Company $IP

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IP. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of International Paper by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of International Paper by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut International Paper from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. 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 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on International Paper from $40.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on International Paper from $51.80 to $50.70 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.73.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $31.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.73. International Paper Company has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $56.13.

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

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -29.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.83 per share, with a total value of $499,999.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,060.36. This represents a 102.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Tozier bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.30 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,782.50. This trade represents a 40,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 36,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,313,064. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.