Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Clearwater Paper Corporation (NYSE:CLW) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.50.

CLW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Clearwater Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Clearwater Paper to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clearwater Paper in the second quarter worth $19,788,000. Readystate Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Clearwater Paper by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 781,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 19,246 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Clearwater Paper by 113.0% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 320,212 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 169,880 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Clearwater Paper by 107.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 237,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 122,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in Clearwater Paper in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,986,000. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clearwater Paper Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:CLW opened at $20.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.99 million, a P/E ratio of -6.89 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.70. Clearwater Paper has a 52-week low of $11.73 and a 52-week high of $23.59.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported ($1.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $374.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.80 million. Clearwater Paper had a negative net margin of 3.24% and a negative return on equity of 7.95%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Clearwater Paper will post -2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clearwater Paper Company Profile

Clearwater Paper Corporation is a manufacturer of bleached paperboard products used in packaging and other commercial applications. Its products include folding carton board, cup stock, liquid packaging board, and other paperboard grades designed for food, beverage, consumer, and industrial packaging.

The company serves customers primarily in North America through a network of manufacturing facilities and converting operations. Clearwater Paper’s paperboard products are used to make cartons, containers, cups, and related packaging for consumer and commercial goods.

Clearwater Paper was established in 2008 when it was spun off from Potlatch Corporation.