Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM) versus Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) Head to Head Contrast

Sylvamo (NYSE:SLVM) and Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Sylvamo has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Clearwater Paper has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sylvamo and Clearwater Paper, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sylvamo	2	1	1	0	1.75
Clearwater Paper	0	0	1	0	3.00

Sylvamo currently has a consensus price target of $71.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.85%. Clearwater Paper has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 67.21%. Given Clearwater Paper’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than Sylvamo.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sylvamo and Clearwater Paper”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sylvamo	$3.77 billion	0.49	$302.00 million	$5.23	8.82
Clearwater Paper	$1.38 billion	0.25	$196.30 million	$12.05	1.79

Sylvamo has higher revenue and earnings than Clearwater Paper. Clearwater Paper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sylvamo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.2% of Sylvamo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Sylvamo shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Sylvamo and Clearwater Paper’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sylvamo	6.11%	23.99%	8.14%
Clearwater Paper	12.98%	-4.11%	-1.76%

Summary

Sylvamo beats Clearwater Paper on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sylvamo

Sylvamo Corporation produces and markets uncoated freesheet for cutsize, offset paper, and pulp in Latin America, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Europe, Latin America, and North America segments. The Europe segment offers copy, tinted, and colored laser printing paper under REY Adagio and Pro-Design brands; and graphic and high-speed inkjet printing papers under the brand Jetstar; as well as produces uncoated freesheet papers. The Latin America segment focuses on uncoated freesheet paper under Chamex, Chamequinho and Chambril brands, as well as produces HP papers. This segment also operates integrated mills and non-integrated mills. The North America segment offers imaging, commercial printing, and converting papers, as well as uncoated papers under Hammermill, Springhill, Williamsburg, Accent, DRM and Postmark brand names. It distributes its products through a variety of channels, including retail merchants, e-commerce, agents, resellers, and paper distributors. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.

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.