Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $511,000 in International Paper Company $IP

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 13,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in International Paper by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in shares of International Paper by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of International Paper by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $40.99 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.90. International Paper Company has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $50.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.10.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.08. International Paper had a negative return on equity of 1.09% and a negative net margin of 14.20%.The company had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that International Paper Company will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. International Paper’s payout ratio is -28.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on International Paper from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised International Paper from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $61.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 3,500 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.96, for a total value of $146,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 34,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,046.08. The trade was a 9.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William Thomas Hamic sold 24,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $1,009,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 106,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,406,422.40. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.