Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,533 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in International Paper were worth $696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of International Paper during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,327,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in International Paper by 15.1% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC bought a new position in International Paper during the third quarter valued at $4,870,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of International Paper by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 937,324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,788,000 after buying an additional 49,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 4th quarter worth about $828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on IP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on International Paper from $61.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded 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, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, International Paper has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at International Paper

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.19, for a total transaction of $33,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,891.55. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,800 shares of company stock valued at $100,848 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $56.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.46. International Paper has a 52-week low of $32.70 and a 52-week high of $60.36. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15 and a beta of 1.03.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.