International Paper (IP) Competitors

International Paper (NYSE:IP) and Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of IP or CLW?

81.9% of International Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of International Paper shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, IP or CLW?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Paper	$21.93B	1.10	$557M	-$0.10	-455.30
Clearwater Paper	$1.38B	0.25	$196.30M	$12.05	1.77

Which has more volatility and risk, IP or CLW?

International Paper has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than 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.

Is IP or CLW more profitable?

Clearwater Paper has a net margin of 12.98% compared to International Paper's net margin of -0.12%. International Paper's return on equity of 2.63% beat Clearwater Paper's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Paper	-0.12%	2.63%	1.09%
Clearwater Paper	12.98%	-4.11%	-1.76%

Do analysts prefer IP or CLW?

International Paper presently has a consensus price target of $55.65, suggesting a potential upside of 22.23%. Clearwater Paper has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 68.54%. Given Clearwater Paper's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than International Paper.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Paper	3 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22
Clearwater Paper	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media prefer IP or CLW?

In the previous week, International Paper had 13 more articles in the media than Clearwater Paper. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for International Paper and 4 mentions for Clearwater Paper. International Paper's average media sentiment score of 1.33 beat Clearwater Paper's score of 1.23 indicating that International Paper is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
International Paper	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Clearwater Paper	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

International Paper beats Clearwater Paper on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.