Head to Head Contrast: Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) versus Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM)

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Rayonier Advanced Materials”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$1.38 billion	0.25	$196.30 million	$12.05	1.79
Rayonier Advanced Materials	$1.63 billion	0.23	-$38.71 million	($6.67)	-0.84

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.6% of Rayonier Advanced Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Rayonier Advanced Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Rayonier Advanced Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	12.98%	-4.11%	-1.76%
Rayonier Advanced Materials	-29.23%	-12.11%	-3.68%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Clearwater Paper and Rayonier Advanced Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	0	0	1	0	3.00
Rayonier Advanced Materials	1	0	1	0	2.00

Clearwater Paper presently has a consensus target price of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 67.21%. Rayonier Advanced Materials has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.43%. Given Clearwater Paper’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than Rayonier Advanced Materials.

Risk and Volatility

Clearwater Paper has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rayonier Advanced Materials has a beta of 2.55, suggesting that its share price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Clearwater Paper beats Rayonier Advanced Materials on 10 of the 13 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 Rayonier Advanced Materials

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. manufactures and sells cellulose specialty products in the United States, China, Latin America, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, other Asian countries, and internationally. It operates through High Purity Cellulose, Paperboard, and High-Yield Pulp segments. The company’s products include cellulose specialties, which are natural polymers that are used as raw materials to manufacture a range of consumer-oriented products, such as liquid crystal displays, impact-resistant plastics, thickeners for food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cigarette filters, high-tenacity rayon yarn for tires and industrial hoses, food casings, paints, and lacquers. It also offers commodity products, such as commodity viscose pulp used in woven applications, including rayon textiles for clothing and other fabrics, as well as in non-woven applications comprising baby wipes, cosmetic and personal wipes, industrial wipes, and mattress ticking; and absorbent materials consisting of fluff fibers that are used as an absorbent medium in disposable baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, incontinence pads, convalescent bed pads, industrial towels and wipes, and non-woven fabrics. In addition, the company provides paperboards for packaging, printing documents, brochures, promotional materials, paperback books and catalog covers, file folders, tags, and lottery tickets; and high-yield pulps to produces hardwood aspen, maple, and birch species for paperboard, packaging, printing and writing papers, and various other paper products. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.