Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes $28,000 Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IP. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 29.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,704,000 after buying an additional 73,367 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in International Paper by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 156,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,110,000 after acquiring an additional 29,904 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in International Paper by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 279,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,643,000 after acquiring an additional 10,260 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 426,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,659,000 after purchasing an additional 35,857 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of International Paper by 745.4% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 72,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 63,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BNP Paribas lowered International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Up 1.0 %

IP opened at $56.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.66 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.27. International Paper has a twelve month low of $31.76 and a twelve month high of $59.52.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. International Paper’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.12%.

Insider Transactions at International Paper

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total transaction of $32,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 38,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,051,457.50. The trade was a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,729.36. This trade represents a 22.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,840 shares of company stock worth $910,826. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Company Profile

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.