Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 22,860 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 294% compared to the average daily volume of 5,809 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total value of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,400 shares of company stock worth $331,402. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On International Paper

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of International Paper by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,030,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $471,065,000 after acquiring an additional 4,960,005 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in International Paper by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 9,835,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $355,550,000 after purchasing an additional 25,640 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in International Paper by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,847,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,844,000 after purchasing an additional 35,930 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in International Paper by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,082,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $144,509,000. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

International Paper Price Performance

International Paper stock opened at $39.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.16 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.68. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.00 and a 1 year high of $41.30.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.06). International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The company had revenue of $4.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on IP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.57.

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.