Clearwater Paper (CLW) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $412.41M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 314.32K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 33.7
• Beta (1Y): 0.40
• Revenue Growth: -15.03%
• EPS Growth: -233.06%
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,200
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 62
• Industry: Paper, Lumber & Forest Products
• EPS (TTM): -0.36
• Shares Outstanding: 16,255,627
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 344,807
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 314,316
• PEG Ratio: N/A
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.00
• Price to Cash Flow (P/CF): 0.00
• P/FCF Ratio: 0.00
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.61
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 8.73
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: $37.00
• Price Target Upside: 36.53% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1

Clearwater Paper's overall stock score reflects a mixed financial performance with strong revenue growth but challenges in profitability and cash flow. The technical indicators suggest moderate upward momentum, while valuation concerns due to a negative P/E ratio and no dividend yield weigh on the score. The positive sentiment from the latest earnings call, highlighting operational strength and strategic initiatives, provides some optimism for future performance.

Clearwater Paper Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Clearwater Paper Corporation manufactures and supplies bleached paperboards, and consumer and parent roll tissues in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pulp and Paperboard, and Consumer Products. The Pulp and Paperboard segment offers folding cartons, liquid packaging, cups and plates, blister and carded packaging products, top sheet and commercial printing items, and softwood pulp products, as well as custom sheeting, slitting, and cutting of paperboard products. It sells its products to packaging converters, folding carton converters, merchants, and commercial printers. The Consumer Products segment provides a line of at-home tissue products, including bath tissues, paper towels, facial tissues, and napkins; recycled fiber value grade products; and away-from-home tissues. This segment sells its products to retailers and wholesale distributors, including grocery, club, mass merchants, and discount stores. Clearwater Paper Corporation was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

How the Company Makes Money

Clearwater Paper makes money primarily through the production and sale of its tissue and paperboard products. The Consumer Products segment generates revenue by manufacturing and distributing private label tissue products to retail customers, who then sell these under their own brand names. This segment benefits from long-term supply agreements with major retail chains, ensuring a steady revenue stream. The Pulp and Paperboard segment earns revenue by selling bleached paperboard to packaging manufacturers and converters, who use it in the production of consumer goods packaging, food service items, and containerboard. The company's earnings are influenced by factors such as raw material costs, production efficiency, and the demand for private label products, as well as strategic partnerships with large retailers and industrial customers.

Clearwater Paper Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Clearwater Paper shows a mixed financial performance. Revenue growth and equity improvements are positive, but profitability and cash flow generation face challenges with fluctuating margins and negative free cash flow. Despite these issues, the company maintains a manageable debt level, reflecting prudent financial management amidst a competitive industry landscape.

Income Statement

Clearwater Paper experienced significant fluctuations in revenue and profitability over recent periods. The TTM gross profit margin stands at 6.71%, with revenue showing a growth of 26.11% from the previous year. However, the company faced a negative EBIT margin of -1.28%, and the net profit margin of 9.90% suggests occasional profitability spikes. While EBITDA margin is positive at 0.36%, the volatility in operational efficiency is notable.

Balance Sheet

The debt-to-equity ratio improved to 0.34, indicating better leverage management, as total debt decreased while equity increased. The TTM return on equity is 20.65%, reflecting solid profitability relative to shareholders' equity. The equity ratio stands at 51.20%, highlighting a stable capital structure with a balanced approach between liabilities and equity.

Cash Flow

Cash flow presents challenges with a decline in free cash flow growth and negative free cash flow in TTM. The operating cash flow to net income ratio is low at 0.02, indicating insufficient cash generation relative to reported profits. Although past investing activities were substantial, recent periods show a strain in maintaining positive free cash flow.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
1.38B	2.08B	2.08B	1.77B	1.87B
	Gross Profit
76.10M	330.80M	256.70M	182.60M	294.20M
	EBIT
-41.00M	177.10M	113.90M	1.70M	158.10M
	EBITDA
-64.50K	275.30M	219.70M	106.40M	258.20M
	Net Income Common Stockholders
196.30M	107.70M	46.00M	-28.00M	77.10M
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
79.60M	42.00M	53.70M	25.20M	35.90M
	Total Assets
1.68B	1.67B	1.70B	1.69B	1.80B
	Total Debt
293.30M	478.50M	565.80M	639.20M	787.70M
	Net Debt
213.70M	436.50M	512.10M	614.00M	751.80M
	Total Liabilities
824.80M	1.00B	1.13B	1.18B	1.28B
	Stockholders Equity
854.50M	668.70M	572.00M	511.70M	521.10M
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
-55.20M	117.00M	116.70M	58.00M	207.40M
	Operating Cash Flow
61.40M	190.70M	150.20M	96.40M	247.00M
	Investing Cash Flow
167.70M	-73.70M	-33.50M	-25.10M	-39.60M
	Financing Cash Flow
-191.40M	-129.40M	-88.60M	-82.00M	-192.90M

Clearwater Paper Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 27.10
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CLW, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 27.1 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 25.30, above the 50-day MA of 24.95, and below the 200-day MA of 29.20, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.45 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 61.07 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 67.56 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CLW.

Clearwater Paper Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
VHI	64 Neutral	$497.71M	4.71	11.76%	1.82%	7.82%	19465.71%
CLW	60 Neutral	$412.41M	33.74	-8.15%	―	-15.03%	-233.06%
MATV	55 Neutral	$278.58M	4.60	-66.90%	7.05%	-7.46%	-36.14%
RDUS	53 Neutral	$829.14M	―	-41.03%	2.56%	-2.75%	-339.59%
RYAM	52 Neutral	$281.69M	―	-10.12%	―	2.20%	34.71%
MERC	51 Neutral	$238.06M	―	-17.96%	7.98%	-1.37%	60.42%
Sector *	49 Neutral	$1.96B	-1.17	-21.28%	3.71%	1.14%	-30.35%

Clearwater Paper Corporate Events

Clearwater Paper Announces CEO Employment Agreement

On April 1, 2025, Clearwater Paper Corporation announced a new employment agreement with its President and CEO, Arsen S. Kitch, effective the same day. The agreement extends for one year with automatic renewals and maintains Kitch’s current salary and bonus structure. It includes provisions for severance and benefits in case of termination or change of control, along with restrictions on post-employment activities.