Clearwater Paper Corp (CLW) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Clearwater Paper's P/E of 86.9 is above its own 5-year median of 8.8.

P/E above the industry

Clearwater Paper's P/E of 86.9 is above the Paper and Allied Products median of 18.7.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Clearwater Paper's EV/EBITDA of 10.9 is above its 5-year median of 9.4.

P/B below the industry

Clearwater Paper's price-to-book of 0.28 is below the Paper and Allied Products median of 1.46.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $13.90 is above our fair value estimate of $5.93.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 134% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 9.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growth over 3 years

Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.

Earnings acceleration

Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

Growing slower than the industry

Revenue grew -3.2% over the last twelve months; the Paper and Allied Products median is 0.8%.

Company guidance

No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 1.8% over the last twelve months, against 7.3% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 0.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 8.8% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital under 10%

Return on invested capital was -1.6%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity below the industry

Clearwater Paper's return on equity of 0.3% is below the Paper and Allied Products median of 0.3%.

Earnings over 5 years

Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 0.2% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 4.9%.

Net margin below the industry

Clearwater Paper's net margin of 0.2% is below the Paper and Allied Products median of 0.2%.

High debt

Debt is 71.4% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.

Debt falling against equity

Debt to equity fell from 138% five years ago to 71.4%.

Debt not well covered by cash flow

Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 18.5% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Interest not well covered

Operating income covers interest expense -1.2 times; we look for at least 5.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.47 times current liabilities.

Elevated bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 1.75; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

No dividend

Clearwater Paper has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

Yield against Treasuries

No dividend.

Yield against the market

No dividend.

Dividend stability

No dividend.

Earnings cover

No dividend.

Cash-flow cover

No dividend.