International Paper Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.4625 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%.

International Paper has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.4% per year over the last three years. International Paper has a payout ratio of 67.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect International Paper to earn $2.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.85 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.8%.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of IP stock opened at $48.08 on Tuesday. International Paper has a 52-week low of $31.76 and a 52-week high of $50.68. The stock has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 98.12 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.96.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.14. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at International Paper

In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Clay R. Ellis sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.83, for a total value of $439,470.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,433,296.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.10, for a total transaction of $27,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,002 shares in the company, valued at $1,890,192.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,840 shares of company stock valued at $905,294. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IP shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.21.

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.