Clearwater Paper Co. (NYSE:CLW) Short Interest Up 9.9% in January

Clearwater Paper Co. (NYSE:CLW) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 403,900 shares, an increase of 9.9% from the January 15th total of 367,600 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 375,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clearwater Paper from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Clearwater Paper in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clearwater Paper by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,887,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,855,000 after purchasing an additional 587,043 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clearwater Paper by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 637,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,967,000 after purchasing an additional 43,604 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Clearwater Paper by 1,102.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 429,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after acquiring an additional 393,572 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Clearwater Paper by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 388,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,561,000 after acquiring an additional 195,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Clearwater Paper by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 386,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. 89.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clearwater Paper Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of CLW opened at $26.80 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.54. Clearwater Paper has a twelve month low of $23.97 and a twelve month high of $57.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.09 million, a P/E ratio of 31.17 and a beta of 0.35.

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The basic materials company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by ($0.84). Clearwater Paper had a return on equity of 4.35% and a net margin of 0.74%.

Clearwater Paper declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, November 4th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 23.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Clearwater Paper

Clearwater Paper Corporation manufactures and supplies bleached paperboards, and consumer and parent roll tissues in the United States and internationally. It operates through Pulp and Paperboard, and Consumer Products segments. The Pulp and Paperboard segment manufactures and markets bleached paperboard; Solid Bleached Sulfate paperboard that is used to produce folding cartons, liquid packaging, cups and plates, blister and carded packaging, and top sheet and commercial printing items; and hardwood and softwood pulp, as well as offers services that include custom sheeting, slitting, and cutting.