Reviewing Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Billerud AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BLRDF)

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Billerud AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BLRDF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Clearwater Paper and Billerud AB (publ), as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	0	1	0	0	2.00
Billerud AB (publ)	1	0	2	0	2.33

Clearwater Paper presently has a consensus price target of $42.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.12%. Given Clearwater Paper’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than Billerud AB (publ).

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Billerud AB (publ)’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$2.08 billion	0.36	$107.80 million	$5.98	7.56
Billerud AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Clearwater Paper has higher revenue and earnings than Billerud AB (publ).

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of Billerud AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Billerud AB (publ)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	4.92%	17.35%	6.68%
Billerud AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Clearwater Paper beats Billerud AB (publ) on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 Pulp and Paperboard, and Consumer Products segments. 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. It sells its products to carton converters, folding carton converters, merchants, and commercial printers. The Consumer Products segment provides a line of at-home tissue products, including bath tissues, paper towels, facial tissues, and napkins; recycled fiber value grade products; and away-from-home tissues. This segment sells its products to retailers, including grocery, club, mass merchants, and discount stores. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Spokane, Washington.

About Billerud AB (publ)

Billerud AB (publ) provides paper and packaging materials worldwide. It operates through Region Europe, Region North America, and Solutions & Other segments. The Region Europe segment manufactures and sells liquid packaging board, kraft paper, containerboard, cartonboard, sack paper and market pulp, which are primarily used to produce packaging for food and beverages, industrial, medical and hygiene, as well as consumer and luxury goods. The Region North America segment engages in the manufacturing and sale of graphic paper, kraft and specialty paper, and market pulp, which are primarily used for printing and publishing, packaging of food, and consumer products. Its Solutions & Other segment provides services under managed packaging; and supply woods. The company was formerly known as BillerudKorsnäs AB (publ) and changed its name to Billerud AB (publ) in October 2022. Billerud AB (publ) was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.