International Paper (NYSE:IP) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $57.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $38.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.38% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on IP. Argus downgraded shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, International Paper currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.14.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP opened at $45.46 on Thursday. International Paper has a one year low of $29.00 and a one year high of $46.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.17 and a 200-day moving average of $36.52. The company has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a PE ratio of 92.78 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NYSE:IP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.06). International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The firm had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. International Paper’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other International Paper news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 9,400 shares of company stock valued at $334,570 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IP. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of International Paper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 208.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of International Paper by 1,094.7% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% 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.