Amalgamated Bank Boosts Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 33.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,171 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in International Paper were worth $4,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IP. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 57.0% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 39,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 14,294 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 6.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 7.7% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 705,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,006,000 after acquiring an additional 50,272 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 40.5% in the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 20,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 6,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of International Paper by 4.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 155,962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,708. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,400 shares of company stock worth $334,570. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday. Argus lowered International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.14.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IP traded up $2.50 on Thursday, reaching $44.16. 12,514,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,554,358. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $29.00 and a fifty-two week high of $44.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.83 and its 200-day moving average is $36.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 85.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. International Paper’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 377.55%.

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.