Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in International Paper Company $IP

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 44,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,053,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in International Paper by 7.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its stake in International Paper by 3.8% during the second quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in International Paper by 10.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 1.7% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 15,856 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on IP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on International Paper from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group lowered their price target on International Paper from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of International Paper from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.07.

International Paper Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $43.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.04. International Paper Company has a 1 year low of $35.56 and a 1 year high of $60.15. The company has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.54, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.45.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.43) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.96). The business had revenue of $6.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.16% and a negative net margin of 5.45%.International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 56.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 18,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.85, for a total transaction of $693,480.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.