International Paper (NYSE:IP) Short Interest Update

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,090,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the October 15th total of 8,800,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of International Paper by 79.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 35,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 15,751 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in International Paper by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 68,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 13,499 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in International Paper by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in International Paper by 47.1% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 20,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $743,000 after buying an additional 6,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 115,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,085,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of International Paper from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 18th. Truist Financial raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on International Paper from $30.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, International Paper has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.89.

International Paper Trading Down 0.7 %

IP traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.38. 2,291,989 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,084,032. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 45.43 and a beta of 1.05. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $41.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.75.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. International Paper had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 1.31%. The business had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that International Paper will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

International Paper Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is currently 250.00%.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers segment. The company's Industrial Packaging segment manufactures containerboards, including linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium, and saturating kraft.