Clearwater Paper Co. (NYSE:CLW) Short Interest Update

Clearwater Paper Co. (NYSE:CLW) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 988,200 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the November 30th total of 851,800 shares. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 455,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Clearwater Paper

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLW. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clearwater Paper by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,887,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,855,000 after purchasing an additional 587,043 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Clearwater Paper by 124.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 6,865 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Clearwater Paper during the third quarter worth $877,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Clearwater Paper in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,043,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Clearwater Paper by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 50,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 19,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Clearwater Paper in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered Clearwater Paper from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Clearwater Paper Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLW opened at $29.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.31. Clearwater Paper has a fifty-two week low of $23.97 and a fifty-two week high of $57.13. The company has a market capitalization of $493.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Clearwater Paper announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, November 4th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 23.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.