Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) Head to Head Analysis

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and West Fraser Timber (OTCMKTS:WFTBF) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Clearwater Paper and West Fraser Timber, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	1	5	2	0	2.12
West Fraser Timber	0	0	0	0	0.00

Clearwater Paper presently has a consensus target price of $18.50, suggesting a potential downside of 13.39%. Given Clearwater Paper’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than West Fraser Timber.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Clearwater Paper and West Fraser Timber”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$1.56 billion	0.22	-$18.60 million	($3.04)	-7.03
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.84	17.95

West Fraser Timber has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Clearwater Paper. Clearwater Paper is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Fraser Timber, 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, 31.7% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Clearwater Paper shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	-3.24%	-7.95%	-4.06%
West Fraser Timber	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Clearwater Paper beats West Fraser Timber on 6 of the 11 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 West Fraser Timber

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., a diversified wood products company, produces and sells lumber, panels, and pulp and papers in western Canada and the southern United States. It offers spruce-pine-fir, Douglas Fir-Larch, Hem-Fir tree, and southern yellow pine lumber; treated wood products; and newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and energy products. The company also provides medium density fiberboard panels and plywood; laminated veneer lumber wood products; and northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, specialty grades, and various tissue products. In addition, it offers bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp that is used to produce coated board grades, printing and writing paper, and paper towel/napkin grades, as well as specialty papers and tissue grades. The company exports lumber to the Far East, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.