Head to Head Contrast: Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) versus Glatfelter (NYSE:GLT)

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Glatfelter (NYSE:GLT) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Clearwater Paper and Glatfelter, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	0	1	0	0	2.00
Glatfelter	0	0	0	0	N/A

Clearwater Paper currently has a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating a potential downside of 13.74%. Given Clearwater Paper’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than Glatfelter.

Profitability

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Glatfelter’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	4.92%	17.35%	6.68%
Glatfelter	-5.71%	-14.04%	-2.45%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.9% of Glatfelter shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Glatfelter shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Clearwater Paper has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Glatfelter has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Glatfelter’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$2.08 billion	0.39	$107.80 million	$5.98	8.14
Glatfelter	$1.39 billion	0.06	-$79.05 million	($1.75)	-0.96

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

Summary

Clearwater Paper beats Glatfelter on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It sells its products to carton 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, including grocery, club, mass merchants, and discount stores. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Spokane, Washington.

About Glatfelter

Glatfelter Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of engineered materials worldwide. It operates through three segments: Composite Fibers, Airlaid Materials, and Spunlace. The Composite Fibers segment offers food and beverage filtration materials for single-serve coffee and tea products; wallcover base materials for wallpaper manufacturers; metallized products that are used in labels, packaging liners, gift wraps, and other consumer product applications; composite laminates consisting of decorative laminates for use in furniture, household and commercial flooring, and other applications; and specialty engineered products, which are used in electrical energy storage, home, hygiene, and other engineered fiber-based applications. The Airlaid Materials segment supplies absorbent cellulose-based airlaid nonwoven materials that are used to manufacture consumer products, such as feminine hygiene and other hygiene products, specialty wipes, tabletop, adult incontinence, home care, food pads, and other consumer and industrial products. The Spunlace segment manufactures spunlace nonwovens for cleaning, high-performance materials, personal care, hygiene, and medical applications. The company was formerly known as P. H. Glatfelter Company. Glatfelter Corporation was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.