Clearwater Paper Corp and its business structure epitomize a fascinating example of perseverance, growth, and transformation. The Nyse:CLW is a paper manufacturing organization that specializes in the production of private label tissue, paperboard, and pulp-based products. It operates through two segments: Consumer Products and Pulp and Paperboard.
The Consumer Products unit manufactures comprehensive lines of home-based tissue items. Whereas the Pulp division produces high-end solid bleached sulfate paperboard for different packaging industries using custom sheeting, slitting, and paperboard cutting services.
However, recent happenings on Wall Street seem to have affected Clearwater Paper’s fortunes as stock analysts at StockNews.com on Friday had no choice but to downgrade their rating from “buy” to “hold.”
These recent revelations may have been fueled by news that Vice President Rebecca Anne Barckle sold 2,506 shares of Clearwater Paper stock worth $82,698 on Tuesday 23rd May at an average price of $33 per share. It followed Vice President Michael S. Gadd selling 6,126 shares on Friday 5th May valued at $196,583.34.
Perhaps even more alarming is insider trading activity over the previous three months has seen insiders sell almost twenty thousand shares worth over six hundred thousand dollars collectively.
It would be easy to believe this series of events leaves much room to consider whether becoming involved within the company is a good decision. It certainly gives shareholders pause as they contemplate what impact these insider sales may have on the direction future developments will take regarding stock prices issues or any other related concerns.
Although this news doesn’t seem promising for current investors or those considering entering the market for CLW’s stocks; it remains too soon to tell the actual influence such actions will generate with regards to the ever-evolving landscape within Clearwater Paper Corp. One thing is certain though – time alone will tell how deep these ramifications go so keep a watchful eye on the movements of this company over the coming weeks and months.
Clearwater Paper Gains Institutional Investor and Equity Analyst Attention, Despite COVID Challenges
Clearwater Paper, a basic materials company, has recently caught the attention of institutional investors and equity analysts alike. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) upgraded Clearwater Paper from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating, and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Monday, April 24th. Furthermore, TheStreet also upgraded the rating of Clearwater Paper from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating on Wednesday, May 3rd.
On Friday, NYSE CLW opened at $31.87, with its fifty-two week high at $46.48 and its fifty-two week low at $29.92. Despite being heavily impacted by COVID-19 over the past year, the stock’s 50-day moving average is sitting at $33.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is at $35.91.
Clearwater Paper has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, which indicates that the company may be less risky compared to others in its industry considering that it leverages debt financing to finance operations and growth projects.
In terms of institutional investment activity in Clearwater Paper stock, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings by 80.9% during the third quarter while US Bancorp DE raised its stakes by 103.2% during the first quarter of this year alone.
Federated Hermes Inc., one of America’s leading investment managers with more than $1 trillion in assets under management related activities strongly suggest an insider-buying culture within Clearwater Paper as they recently boosted their holdings by almost four times during the first quarter.
Captrust Financial Advisors also weighed in on Clearwater Paper’s potential for growth acquisition when they raised their stake by roughly 35% during the first quarter while Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings by over five times in the same quarter.
It’s worth noting that approximately 90% of Clearwater Paper’s stock is owned by institutional investors & hedge funds. All of these factors suggest that Clearwater Paper is a strong company with a lot of investor confidence behind it, despite recent challenges related to COVID-19.
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