New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Acquires New Stake in International Paper Company $IP

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board bought a new position in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 26,302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IP. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of International Paper by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in International Paper by 1.3% in the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $1,009,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 106,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,406,422.40. This represents a 18.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total value of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,437,046.08. This represents a 9.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP opened at $37.96 on Tuesday. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of -5.82 and a beta of 0.94.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.19 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper Company will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on IP. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, July 31st. Loop Capital set a $61.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of International Paper from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.75.

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.