Bank of America Raises Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) Price Target to $25.00

Key Points

• Bank of America raised Clearwater Paper’s price target from $24 to $25 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying 23.27% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally cautious: Clearwater Paper has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $19.50, based on one Buy, six Hold, and one Sell rating.
• The company reported a quarterly adjusted loss of $1.75 per share, missing estimates by $0.26, while analysts expect a full-year loss of $2.95 per share. Institutional investors own approximately 89.98% of the stock.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $24.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 23.27% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CLW. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Clearwater Paper to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Clearwater Paper from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Clearwater Paper in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Clearwater Paper Price Performance

Shares of CLW stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.28. 25,322 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 207,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock's fifty day moving average is $19.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.48. Clearwater Paper has a fifty-two week low of $11.73 and a fifty-two week high of $23.59. The company has a market cap of $327.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.67 and a beta of 0.22.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported ($1.75) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.49) by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $374.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.80 million. Clearwater Paper had a negative return on equity of 7.95% and a negative net margin of 3.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Clearwater Paper will post -2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLW. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearwater Paper in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Clearwater Paper during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Clearwater Paper during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Clearwater Paper by 305.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,418 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Clearwater Paper by 34.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,185 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. 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.

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