Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of International Paper Call Options (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 22,683 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 509% compared to the average volume of 3,723 call options.

International Paper Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of IP stock opened at $55.65 on Friday. International Paper has a 12-month low of $32.70 and a 12-month high of $60.36. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.56 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.05). International Paper had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 6.49%. As a group, analysts predict that International Paper will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

International Paper Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. International Paper’s dividend payout ratio is 158.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kathryn D. Sullivan sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total transaction of $35,034.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,145 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,896.55. This represents a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of International Paper by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 11,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in International Paper by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 15,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors bought a new position in International Paper in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,908,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after buying an additional 6,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of International Paper by 90.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down previously from $65.00) on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $48.20 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.88.

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.