StockNews.com Upgrades Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) to “Strong-Buy”

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CLW. TheStreet cut shares of Clearwater Paper from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Clearwater Paper from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st.

Clearwater Paper Price Performance

CLW opened at $35.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $589.20 million, a P/E ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.97. Clearwater Paper has a 52-week low of $29.22 and a 52-week high of $40.65.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $519.90 million for the quarter. Clearwater Paper had a net margin of 4.02% and a return on equity of 14.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clearwater Paper by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,717,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $76,165,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Clearwater Paper by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,351,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,332,000 after acquiring an additional 42,996 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Clearwater Paper by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,189,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,351,000 after acquiring an additional 20,592 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Clearwater Paper by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,399,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Clearwater Paper by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 398,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,410,000 after acquiring an additional 184,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.38% of the company’s stock.

About Clearwater Paper

Clearwater Paper Corporation manufactures and supplies bleached paperboards, and consumer and parent roll tissues in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pulp and Paperboard, and Consumer Products. The Pulp and Paperboard segment manufactures and markets bleached paperboard; Solid Bleached Sulfate paperboard that is used to produce folding cartons, liquid packaging, cups and plates, blister and carded packaging, and top sheet and commercial printing items; and hardwood and softwood pulp, as well as offers services that include custom sheeting, slitting, and cutting.