Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $29.72 Million Position in International Paper Company $IP

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 640,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 45,838 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of International Paper worth $29,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of International Paper during the 1st quarter worth about $249,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in International Paper by 100.5% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 32,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 16,055 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in International Paper in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in International Paper by 22.7% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 13,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of International Paper by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 190,006 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,898,000 after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of International Paper in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. BNP Paribas Exane raised International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on International Paper from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised International Paper from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew K. Silvernail bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.98 per share, with a total value of $1,999,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 18,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.85, for a total value of $693,480.15. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

International Paper Stock Performance

IP opened at $46.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.11. International Paper Company has a 12-month low of $35.56 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.90 billion. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 0.35% and a negative net margin of 14.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper is a global producer of renewable fiber-based products, focused primarily on pulp, paper, and packaging. The company manufactures containerboard and corrugated packaging used for shipping and retail display, as well as a range of specialty papers and pulp products that serve industrial, consumer goods, and e-commerce customers. Its product portfolio is oriented toward large-scale packaging solutions, tissue and paper grades, and raw pulp for a variety of manufacturing uses.

Founded in 1898, International Paper is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest and longest-established companies in the forest products sector.