Critical Analysis: Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) & Stora Enso Oyj (OTCMKTS:SEOAY)

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and Stora Enso Oyj (OTCMKTS:SEOAY) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Clearwater Paper and Stora Enso Oyj, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	1	6	1	0	2.00
Stora Enso Oyj	2	1	1	0	1.75

Clearwater Paper presently has a consensus price target of $19.67, suggesting a potential upside of 38.97%. Given Clearwater Paper’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than Stora Enso Oyj.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Clearwater Paper and Stora Enso Oyj”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$1.56 billion	0.15	-$18.60 million	$0.16	88.45
Stora Enso Oyj	$10.55 billion	0.83	$786.32 million	$0.56	19.84

Stora Enso Oyj has higher revenue and earnings than Clearwater Paper. Stora Enso Oyj 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 and Insider Ownership

90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Stora Enso Oyj shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Stora Enso Oyj shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Clearwater Paper has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stora Enso Oyj has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	0.16%	-7.36%	-3.65%
Stora Enso Oyj	4.34%	0.83%	0.47%

Summary

Stora Enso Oyj beats Clearwater Paper on 9 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 Stora Enso Oyj

Stora Enso Oyj provides renewable solutions for the packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions, and paper industries in Finland and internationally. It operates through Packaging Materials, Packaging Solutions, Biomaterials, Wood Products, Forest, Paper, and Other segments. The company's Packaging Materials segment offers virgin and recycled fiber replace fossil-based materials with low-carbon, renewable and recyclable packaging materials for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and transport packaging. Its Packaging Solutions segment develops and sells fiber-based packaging products and services, including converting corrugated boards and carton boards; and new materials, such as formed fiber and wood foams into standard and bespoke packaging solutions for retail, e-commerce, and industrials. The company's Biomaterials segment provides various pulp for packaging, paper, tissue, specialties, and hygiene product producers; and tall oil and turpentine from biomass. Its Wood Products segment offers wood-based solutions, including digital tools for design and construction of building projects with wood; applications for windows and doors; and pellets for sustainable heating solutions. The company's Forest segment engages in sustainable forest management, as well as supplies wood. Its Paper segments offers portfolio of products for print and office use. The company's Other segment produces electricity and heat. It serves packaging manufacturers, brand owners, paper merchants, publishers, retailers, printing houses, converters, and construction companies. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.