Recently filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission shows that Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. has increased its position in International Paper (NYSE:IP) by 124.5% during the fourth quarter, boosting its holdings to a total of 9,106 shares worth $315,000. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paper and packaging products, International Paper Co operates through three different segments: Industrial Packaging, Global Cellulose Fibers, and Printing Papers.
The Industrial Packaging segment is primarily responsible for manufacturing containerboards such as linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard and medium as well as saturating kraft on a large scale basis contributing to meeting the high demand for consumer products in today’s competitive market.
International Paper currently trades at $36.04 at opening on the New York Stock Exchange known as NYSE IP. Its current ratio stands at 1.35 along with a quick ratio of 0.97 which illustrates the company’s ability to meet shorter-term obligations efficiently whilst maintaining an optimal level of liquidity while being able to service debt without placing too much strain on finances.
Despite fluctuations in market trends and economic turmoil affecting several industries alike throughout recent times, International Paper maintains a stable financial footmark between their lowest mark pegged at $30.69 over a year span against their highest mark recorded at $49.39 for the previous year indicating soundness in their stability.
With a P/E ratio closing in on single digits noted presently at about 8.86 accompanied by an even-tempered beta score of 1.05 depicting risk level variations relative against S&P 500 benchmark trading can be seen as potentially promising during this time when other sectors may not fare so well.
In essence, it appears that the sound investment demonstrated by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.’s position increase in International Paper proves to be quite strategic as investors worldwide seek solace within financial institutions boasting reassuring stocks amidst the current climate we find ourselves in.
Institutional Investors Show Interest in International Paper as Insiders Sell Stocks
International Paper Co is an American paper and packaging products manufacturer that operates globally through the Industrial Packaging, Global Cellulose Fibers, and Printing Papers sectors. It recently saw other institutional investors reducing or adding to their stakes in the company. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc recently raised its stake in shares of International Paper by 45.5% in Q1 while EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake by 165.8% during Q3. Dupont Capital Management Corp followed suit in Q4 with a 133.4% increase, while Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC registered the biggest stake increase of 576.5%, also during Q4.
Tobam acquired a new position in International Paper during Q3 valued at $36,000, which added to the overall statistic that indicates a whopping 83.64% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
However, some insiders are selling company stocks since CEO Mark S Sutton sold over $2 million worth of shares on 16 March alone. Insiders have subsequently sold over 93,500 company shares worth approximately $3 million over the past three months alone.
International Paper Co last announced its earnings results for January this year; reporting EPS boosted from $0.78 to $0.87 on quarterly revenue growth of just under one percent higher compared to the same period last year.
A range of brokerages has facilitated optimism towards International Paper Co’s stock such as Citigroup who upped their price objective from $36 to $44 and gave it a “neutral” rating on February 2nd this year along with Argus raising its price target from $43 to $50 ahead of this date too and classified it among five companies likely to perform well amidst COVID-19.
While there were three sell ratings ascribed to International Paper Co, just two buy ratings alongside another five hold ratings may suggest that confidence is slowly increasing for this stock. Based on data from Bloomberg, the average rating for the stock is “hold” with traders setting an average target price of $38.82 around this time, showing that while there may be a diverse range of opinions regarding International Paper, it is clearly a company that many parties have vested interests in.
