Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for IP Earnings

International Paper (NYSE:IP) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of International Paper in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, November 14th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the basic materials company will earn $0.31 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.33. The consensus estimate for International Paper’s current full-year earnings is $1.29 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for International Paper’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.81 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.89 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.66 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on IP. Argus upgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas cut International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

International Paper Price Performance

IP opened at $57.58 on Monday. International Paper has a 12-month low of $31.76 and a 12-month high of $59.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.66. The company has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.21 and a beta of 1.02.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 2.25%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.48, for a total value of $29,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 39,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,402.96. This trade represents a 1.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,840 shares of company stock worth $910,826 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in International Paper by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,839,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $871,447,000 after purchasing an additional 8,370,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in International Paper by 133.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,214,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,367,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132,332 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in International Paper by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 21,135,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $824,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,492,035 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in International Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $119,012,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in International Paper by 511.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,970,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,106,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,386 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.