International Paper (NYSE:IP) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $49.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.31% from the company’s previous close.
According to Zacks, “International Paper will likely gain from strong demand in its end markets. In the Industrial Packaging segment, the company continues to witness solid demand for corrugated and containerboard packaging. The Global cellulose fibers segment is riding on strong consumer demand for absorbent pulp. It is however bearing the brunt of supply-chain related challenges, labor shortages and higher input costs across all segments. International Paper anticipates escalating recovered fiber, energy, chemicals, wood and distribution costs in the upcoming quarter. Higher transportation costs due to unprecedented port congestion and vessel delays might impact the company’s shipments. The company recently stated that inflated costs and the impact of the Prattville paper mill outage would likely have a $95-$105 million drag on fourth-quarter earnings.”
IP has been the topic of several other reports. Exane BNP Paribas downgraded International Paper from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on International Paper from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on International Paper from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 28th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on International Paper from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, October 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.47.
Shares of NYSE IP traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.53. 59,379 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,675,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.67. International Paper has a twelve month low of $43.87 and a twelve month high of $65.27. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.96.
International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 18.42% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 4.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.
International Paper announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 9.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Holderness Investments Co. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 18,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 8,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of International Paper by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Green Square Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Green Square Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 81.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About International Paper
International Paper Co engages in the manufacture of paper and packaging products. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Packaging, Global Cellulose Fibers, and Printing Papers. The Industrial Packaging segment involves in the manufacturing of containerboards, which include linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.
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