Citigroup Inc. Has $11.56 Million Position in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,291 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of International Paper worth $11,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IP. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in International Paper by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 156,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,110,000 after buying an additional 29,904 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in International Paper during the first quarter worth about $4,490,000. PGGM Investments bought a new position in International Paper during the first quarter worth about $274,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in International Paper by 141.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 135,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,289,000 after purchasing an additional 79,454 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 70,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 24,781 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on IP. BNP Paribas cut shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Paper from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $61.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.54.

International Paper Stock Performance

International Paper stock opened at $58.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 1.02. International Paper has a 12-month low of $32.70 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.84.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.20. International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. The business had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that International Paper will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. International Paper’s payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In other International Paper news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 39,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,969,402.96. This represents a 1.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Holly G. Goughnour sold 5,000 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.22, for a total transaction of $236,100.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $792,729.36. This trade represents a 22.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $505,070 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.