International Paper (NYSE:IP) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.06 EPS

International Paper (NYSE:IP) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The basic materials company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. International Paper had a net margin of 0.93% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The business had revenue of $4.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis.

International Paper Stock Performance

Shares of International Paper stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.83. 6,735,103 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,058,422. International Paper has a 1 year low of $29.00 and a 1 year high of $41.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.04 and a beta of 0.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,800 shares of company stock valued at $310,438. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IP. Citigroup raised shares of International Paper from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $46.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 14th. Argus lowered shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.13.

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.