Wesbanco Bank Inc. Decreases Stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 875 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in International Paper were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of International Paper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 47,596,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,561,651,000 after purchasing an additional 368,648 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in International Paper by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,195,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,217,119,000 after acquiring an additional 340,383 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in International Paper by 68.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 29,904,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,609,462,000 after acquiring an additional 12,191,361 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,559,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,429,449,000 after acquiring an additional 8,720,575 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in International Paper by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,393,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $450,586,000 after acquiring an additional 24,816 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IP shares. Bank of America started coverage on International Paper in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Truist Financial set a $59.00 target price on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group started coverage on International Paper in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.54.

International Paper Price Performance

IP stock opened at $48.01 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.04. International Paper has a fifty-two week low of $41.50 and a fifty-two week high of $60.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $5.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.38 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 4.75% and a net margin of 2.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. International Paper’s payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Holly G. Goughnour sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.85, for a total value of $336,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 31,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,896.25. This represents a 19.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

International Paper 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.