Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) Cut to Hold at TD Securities

Key Points

• TD Securities downgraded Clearwater Paper from "strong-buy" to "hold" and several analysts have trimmed targets, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $17.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of ($1.29) (a slight beat) but posted a wider net loss of $13M and revenue of $360.3M that missed estimates, sending shares down ~13.5% to about $12.84 and trimming market cap to roughly $206M.
• Management gave a cautious FY2026 revenue outlook (~$1.4B–$1.5B) and analysts highlighted structural risks—high leverage, shrinking EBITDA and inconsistent execution—that constrain confidence in a durable rebound.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at TD Securities from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CLW. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $15.00) on shares of Clearwater Paper in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen downgraded Clearwater Paper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Clearwater Paper from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD downgraded Clearwater Paper from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearwater Paper has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.00.

Clearwater Paper Trading Down 13.5%

Shares of NYSE:CLW opened at $12.84 on Wednesday. Clearwater Paper has a 12-month low of $11.73 and a 12-month high of $30.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $14.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.89. The company has a market capitalization of $206.00 million, a PE ratio of -11.47 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.03. Clearwater Paper had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 1.20%.The business had revenue of $360.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.15 million.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearwater Paper

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLW. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Clearwater Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Clearwater Paper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clearwater Paper in the third quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Clearwater Paper by 104.9% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,838 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Clearwater Paper

Here are the key news stories impacting Clearwater Paper this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Small EPS beat — Q1 EPS came in at ($1.29) versus a consensus of ($1.32), showing a modest upside to expectations. MarketBeat Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Volume recovery — the company reported volume up ~5% year-over-year, indicating demand resilience despite lower market pricing. BusinessWire Q1 Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Full call and transcripts available for detail — investors can review management commentary and Q&A in the earnings call/transcripts to assess outlook and cost actions. Seeking Alpha Q1 Transcript The Motley Fool Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Wider net loss and sales shortfall — net loss widened to $13M (‑$0.80/share) vs a $6M loss a year earlier; net sales fell to $360M and missed some analyst estimates. Those metric declines increase near-term earnings pressure. BusinessWire Q1 Release
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious FY revenue outlook — management updated FY2026 revenue expectations roughly in the ~$1.4B–$1.5B range, versus consensus around $1.5B, signaling limited near-term upside to sales and margin recovery. MarketBeat Guidance Note
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and lower price targets — TD cut CLW from Buy to Hold and trimmed its PT to $17; Truist reaffirmed Hold and lowered its PT to $12 (below recent levels), adding downward pressure on sentiment. BayStreet: TD Downgrade Benzinga: Truist Note
• Negative Sentiment: Structural concerns highlighted by analysts — independent analysis notes high leverage, shrinking EBITDA and execution inconsistency as risks that limit confidence in a durable rebound absent sustained utilization and pricing improvement. Seeking Alpha Analysis

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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