| Friday | ||||
Truist analyst Michael… Truist analyst Michael Roxland raised the firm's price target on Packaging Corp. to $144 from $138 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst notes the company's Q4 earnings beat while noting that it has been able to benefit from a strong sales mix, allowing it to maintain margins in the face of weaker demand. The firm also cites Packaging Corp.'s focused on cost take-out and improving efficiency, which continues to result in significant cost savings. | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
Reports Q4 revenue… Reports Q4 revenue $1.98M, consensus $2.04B. CEO Mark Kowlzan said, "Although demand in our Packaging segment was below our original expectations and we operated our system based on this lower demand, we were able to offset the negative impact through outstanding cost management and process optimization efforts at our mills and corrugated products plants. However, overall, our cost base continued to experience significant inflation compared to last year...Also, during the quarter we re-purchased over 3 million shares of our stock at an average price of $126.70 per share...Prices will move lower as a result of the recent decreases in the published domestic containerboard prices, and we are assuming lower export prices as well. Paper prices should move slightly higher with sales volume fairly flat. Labor costs and certain indirect costs will increase as some containerboard mill operations were temporarily idled during Q4. In addition, we anticipate higher labor and benefits costs and other timing-related expenses that occur at the beginning of a new year as well as higher prices for many chemicals, particularly starch and caustic soda...Lastly, we expect higher interest and non-operating pension expenses and a higher tax rate, but we will see some benefit from our recent share repurchases. Considering these items, we expect Q1 earnings of $2.23 per share." | ||||
| Tuesday | ||||
International Paper… International Paper announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its 50% interest in Ilim SA, the holding company for its Ilim joint venture, to its JV partners for $484M equity value. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals in Russia. This transaction indicates ~$3.5B in total enterprise value for Ilim based on a ~3.1X EBITDA multiple on 2022 full-year results. The company also received an indication of interest from its JV partners to purchase all of the company's shares (constituting a 2.39% stake) in JSC Ilim Group for $24M on terms and conditions to be agreed. The company intends to pursue an agreement to sell the JSC Ilim Group shares, and to divest other non-material residual interests associated with Ilim, to its JV partners. | ||||
| Over a week ago | ||||
Bearish flow noted in… Bearish flow noted in International Paper with 2,702 puts trading, or 1.1x expected. Most active are Jan-24 35 puts and Jan-24 32.5 puts, with total volume in those strikes near 1,700 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 2.30, while ATM IV is up over 1 point on the day. Earnings are expected on January 31st. | ||||
Citi analyst Anthony… Citi analyst Anthony Pettinari raised the firm's price target on Packaging Corp. to $130 from $123 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Demand expectations for North America paper and packaging "have become more realistic, and inventories are largely right-sized starting out the year," Pettinari tells investors in a research note. The analyst sees a stock pickers market continuing in 2023, with select names seeing margin expansion as price/cost catches up. Packaging multiples are well off their lows relative to the S&P, but remain at a discount to pre-pandemic levels, writes Pettinari. | ||||
Citi analyst Anthony… Citi analyst Anthony Pettinari raised the firm's price target on International Paper to $36 from $34 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Demand expectations for North America paper and packaging "have become more realistic, and inventories are largely right-sized starting out the year," Pettinari tells investors in a research note. The analyst sees a stock pickers market continuing in 2023, with select names seeing margin expansion as price/cost catches up. Packaging multiples are well off their lows relative to the S&P, but remain at a discount to pre-pandemic levels, writes Pettinari. | ||||
| Over a month ago | ||||
BofA analyst George… BofA analyst George Staphos downgraded Packaging Corp. to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $139, down from $146, as he reset his positioning in packaging, paper and forest products ahead of 2023. For Packaging, he cited the stock's proximity to his price target as well as supply/demand challenges he sees in the containerboard and uncoated free sheet areas. | ||||
BofA analyst George… BofA analyst George Staphos downgraded Packaging Corp. to Neutral from Buy. | ||||
Unusual total active… Unusual total active option classes on open include: International Paper (IP), ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT), Proshares Bitcoin ETF (BITO), Fidelity National Information Services (FIS), Dollar General (DG), Kroger (KR), Blackstone (BX), Mullen Automotive (MULN), Costco (COST), and Kraft Heinz (KHC). | ||||
