International Paper (IP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.46 on September 16th

International Paper (NYSE:IP) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 9th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.4625 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th.

International Paper has decreased its dividend by an average of 3.4% annually over the last three years. International Paper has a dividend payout ratio of 66.3% 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:IP opened at $44.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.84 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.01 and a 200 day moving average of $40.13. International Paper has a 52 week low of $31.76 and a 52 week high of $47.40.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. International Paper had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on IP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on International Paper from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of International Paper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of International Paper from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of International Paper in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $48.70 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of International Paper from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total value of $26,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,027,453.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,600 shares of company stock worth $157,386. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

About International Paper

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.