International Paper Company [NYSE:IP] shares are showing some interesting activity. The company’s daily low is at $41.79 as the high is reaching $42.51.
If readers are not familiar, International Paper Company is in the Consumer Cyclical sector under the Packaging & Containers industry. This week, we are watching the stock hit price per sales of 0.77 with an earning per share of 1.61.
As a reference point, the S&P 500 is trading 0.5% over the last 52 weeks, while IP stock is trading 8.09%.
Wait and see
Holding a Market Cap of $16.48 billion, International Paper Company has seen a trading range over the last year of $26.38-$47.64.
For the last five days, IP is up from its last closing price. The average shares trading hands each day is 2.90M, with average 10-day volume coming in at 2.6 million.
Using a Force Index Indicator is a good way to look at how strong actual buying and selling pressure is for IP. When we apply the Elder Force Index to International Paper Company, we are seeing an Elder Force Indicator number of 1568272.72.
Recent Performance
The recent performance of the stock is another area that can tell traders how to proceed. IP is presenting an interesting case. This can be seen in the Forward P/E ratio, which currently stands at 16.82. Moreover, the company’s enterprise value has gone from $29.43B to $28.09B quarter-over-quarter. Obviously, the company is heading in the wrong direction, but there are still opportunities for growth in the sector.
In the last quarter, IP made a profit of 1.44 billion. International Paper Company also saw quarter revenue growth year over year of -3.99%. In addition, the company has operating cash flow of $3.35 billion.
Technical Analysis
Looking at popular technical indicators, the company’s 5-day moving average is 41.96 compared to the 50-day moving average of 39.32. So, we are clearly seeing an upward trajectory here.
The Relative Strength Index or RSI is an indicator ranging between 0 and 100 that traders use to determine if a stock is “overbought” or “oversold.” A strong uptrend tending to reach into the “overbought” status is above 70, while a downward trend will stay around the 30 mark. IP currently holds a 9-day RSI of 68.94%, while 100-day RSI stands at 53.43%.
Another indicator we believe is worth keeping tabs on is the Moving Average Convergence Divergence or MACD. Similar to the concept of the Force Index — on the basis of price momentum — the MACD gives traders a tool to measure the turning point of a stock even during rapid fluctuations in price. Buy and sell signals are determined by a stock’s relation to the zero line, so if a stock is above a zero line for many weeks it might be a “buy.” On the other hand, if a stock is below the zero line consistently, it might be one to stay away from. Also, if the MACD line reaches a peak and dips, its momentum may be waning. IP’s 9-day MACD is 1.34 and the company’s 100-day MACD stands at 5.59.
Inside Moves
Another area that is important to analyze is insider moves and majority shareholders. While this is not always an error-free way to tell what the future holds for a stock, you can maybe gather important information from reading the tea leaves about who is buying and selling.
The major holders for this stock are 0.24% by insiders and 85.03% by institutions. Regarding institutional holdings, Vanguard Group, Inc. (The) owns 11.83%, while the second top holder, Blackrock Inc., currently owns 9.41%.
Over the last six months, insiders have sold 4,000 with the most recent transaction from Hamic William Thomas, Senior Vice President, with a sell at price 32.41 per share.
Conclusion
Overall, the recommended rating for IP is Moderate Buy. Currently, the company has 11 analysts watching the stock, and the average quarterly earnings estimate is 0.48. Quarterly revenue estimates are averaging 5.01B with the high estimate reaching 5.27B and the low at 4.71B.
To review, the current 1-year target estimate is sitting at 39.62, while the current price 43.46. Based on this, we expect some pullback on the stock over time given our above analysis.
