Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW – Get Rating) in a report released on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CLW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Clearwater Paper from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. TheStreet lowered Clearwater Paper from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th.

Clearwater Paper Stock Performance

CLW opened at $33.01 on Thursday. Clearwater Paper has a 52-week low of $25.07 and a 52-week high of $46.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $553.25 million, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.50.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.21). Clearwater Paper had a return on equity of 11.26% and a net margin of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $526.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $518.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.82 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearwater Paper

In other Clearwater Paper news, VP Michael S. Gadd sold 8,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.63, for a total value of $326,816.55. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 52,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,968,538.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Michael S. Gadd sold 8,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.63, for a total transaction of $326,816.55. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 52,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,968,538.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael John Murphy sold 5,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.33, for a total value of $193,221.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,407.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,690 shares of company stock worth $633,678 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLW. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clearwater Paper by 80.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Clearwater Paper by 103.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Clearwater Paper by 35.0% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Clearwater Paper by 260.8% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Clearwater Paper by 18.0% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.77% of the company’s stock.

Clearwater Paper Company Profile

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Clearwater Paper Corp. engages in the manufacturing and selling of private label tissue, paperboard, and pulp-based products. It operates through the Consumer Products and Pulp and Paperboard segments. The Consumer Products segment manufactures and sells a complete line of at-home tissue products. The Pulp and Paperboard segment produces and markets solid bleached sulfate paperboard for the high-end segment of the packaging industry and offers custom sheeting, slitting, and cutting of paperboard.