Truist Financial Initiates Coverage on Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW)

Research analysts at Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $21.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.39% from the company’s previous close.

CLW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Clearwater Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. TD Securities set a $30.00 price target on shares of Clearwater Paper and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Clearwater Paper from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen assumed coverage on Clearwater Paper in a report on Monday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clearwater Paper presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.75.

Clearwater Paper Stock Performance

CLW opened at $20.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $322.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.20. Clearwater Paper has a 1 year low of $16.44 and a 1 year high of $33.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.96.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.02. Clearwater Paper had a negative return on equity of 3.65% and a net margin of 9.14%.The business had revenue of $399.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.86 million.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steve M. Bowden sold 8,889 shares of Clearwater Paper stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.14, for a total transaction of $161,246.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 68,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,880.24. The trade was a 11.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its stake in Clearwater Paper by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 762,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,822,000 after buying an additional 122,688 shares during the last quarter. Towle & Co. lifted its position in Clearwater Paper by 12.4% during the third quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 366,798 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,615,000 after purchasing an additional 40,575 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Clearwater Paper by 7.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 303,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,259,000 after buying an additional 20,184 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Clearwater Paper by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC now owns 285,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,765,000 after buying an additional 37,000 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Clearwater Paper by 228.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 258,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,360,000 after buying an additional 179,539 shares in the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Clearwater Paper

Clearwater Paper Corporation is an independent manufacturer of premium tissue and pulp and paperboard products for private-label and commercial customers in North America. The company operates through two core segments: Consumer Products, which produces bathroom tissue, paper towels and other away-from-home tissue products under private-label contracts; and Pulp & Paperboard, which supplies bleached paperboard used in folding cartons, foodservice packaging and specialty paper applications.

The Consumer Products segment services retail grocers, warehouse clubs, online merchants and janitorial distributors, leveraging multiple converting facilities to produce roll and folded tissue items for both household and institutional use.