CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW)
Materials · paper products and packaging · NYSE
Clearwater Paper is a producer of private label tissue and paperboard packaging solutions for the retail and food service sectors.
What CLEARWATER PAPER CORP does
Clearwater Paper Corporation produces private label tissue products, paperboard, and pulp. The company serves retail grocery, mass merchant, and wholesale customers with tissue products and provides paperboard packaging solutions for the food and beverage industry.
Themes: private label consumer goods, paper packaging, food and beverage supply chain
Fundamentals
- Price$21.26 as of 2026-08-24 close
- Market cap$343M as of 2026-08-24
- 1-year return-4.3% 2025-08-22 close $22.22 → 2026-08-24 close $21.26
- P/En/a negative earnings
- Net margin-3.2% as of 2026-08-24
- Gross margin+1.6% as of 2026-08-24
- ROE-6.1% as of 2026-08-24
- Debt / equity0.45 as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue growth (YoY)-1.9% as of 2026-08-24
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+9.2% SEC XBRL
- Beta0.92 as of 2026-08-24
- Last reported earnings2026-07-28 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
How CLW compares in its sector
- net profit marginmiddle range 142 covered Materials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- operating marginbottom 25% 142 covered Materials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- gross marginbottom 10% 141 covered Materials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- return on equitymiddle range 151 covered Materials peers, as of 2026-08-24
- 3-year revenue CAGRtop 25% 127 covered Materials peers
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)bottom 25% 124 covered Materials peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Materials companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
How CLEARWATER PAPER CORP looks technically
CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) is trading 26.9% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 14 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. A strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 38, with buyers in control. Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 7 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative). It made a new 20-day high about 12 trading days ago.
Trend
9
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 26.9% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend | +26.9% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $18.39 | $18.39 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $16.76 | $16.76 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been higher than the one before it and each dip has been shallower — the pattern chart-watchers call an uptrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | higher highs and higher lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing high 17 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 17 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a completed five-part upward sequence — the pattern Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — which on that reading would now be due a pullback rather than more of the same; the labelling fails if price closes above 23.59. It is the only labelling that fits, though not with textbook proportions, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. | possible five-wave upward sequence, complete (atypical proportions) |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 14 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 14 sessions |
| Above the 200-day after a dip | it recently dipped to its 200-day average (the long-term trend line) and has since climbed back above it — now about 26.9% above | +26.9% |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | a strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 38, with buyers in control | 37.7 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 57.2 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the lower half of its 14-day range ($20.29 to $23.59) — its "stochastic" reading is 29 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions. | 29.4 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bearish about 7 trading days ago (its momentum flipped negative) | 7 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $23.59 | $23.59 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 9.9% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -9.9% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 80.7% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +80.7% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 9.9% below its highest point of the past year | 9.9% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day high about 12 trading days ago | 12 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day high about 12 trading days ago | 12 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $75.69 (set on 2015-01-29) | $75.69 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($12.44 to $23.31), and it has given back roughly a quarter of its rise from last year’s low — 19% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $16.24 to $16.59. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 18.9% |
| From the all-time high | it is 71.9% below its all-time high | -71.9% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 1.7% above a support level at $20.91 — a price it turned at three times since 2025-08-21, most recently on 2026-01-14. Since 2024-08-26 it has 4 such levels below the current price and 9 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -1.7% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $2.96 (set on 2009-03-10) | $2.96 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 617.0% above its all-time low | +617.0% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 56th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $0.9329 between its high and its low — about 4.4% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $0.9329 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $19.21 and $24.13 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $19.21 – $21.67 – $24.13 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 4.4% in a typical session — about typical for the companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 4.4% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 4.8 daily ranges above its 200-day average price (26.9% above it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 4.8 daily ranges above its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.51× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts have raised their average price target by 2.4% since the prior reading | +2.4% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating is unchanged since the prior reading | unchanged |
Candlestick patterns
1
| Since a doji | 1 session ago it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | 1 session ago |
|---|
Price gaps
3
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-08-24 1.1% above the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | +1.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 8.1% above the previous close 18 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 17.51 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | +8.1% |
| Gap filled | a 2.0% gap up opened on 2026-08-03 has been "filled" 5 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it took 10 sessions to close | 5 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it closed lower in its latest session, after a session that did not close lower — a single down day rather than a run | 1 session down |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock beat the market by 23.1 percentage points (the stock gained 26.4% while the market gained 3.3%) | +23.1% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock beat the market by 48.6 percentage points (the stock gained 51.0% while the market gained 2.4%) | +48.6% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock beat the market by 36.8 percentage points (the stock gained 47.8% while the market gained 11.1%) | +36.8% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock lagged the market by 22.6 percentage points (the stock lost 4.3% while the market gained 18.3%) | -22.6% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 5 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a strong uptrend, with buyers in control, a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, trading above its 200-day average, outperforming the market over 6 months, trading above the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 5 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 1 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it is currently in a bearish state: MACD momentum is negative — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 1 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 32% above the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-07-17 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established uptrend, with the band below acting as the level that would have to give way. The band itself is moderate, spanning 6.0% of the share price. | +31.8% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 28% above the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $16.59 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 158 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +28.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 2% below the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-07-28 (its 10-Q), so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $21.64 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 20 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -1.8% |
Price levels it has turned at before
CLW last closed at $21.26 on 2026-08-24. Since 2024-08-26 it has turned at 4 prices below its last close and 9 above; the 3 nearest below and the 3 nearest above are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20.91 | Support | 1.7% below the last close | turned there three times · 2025-08-21 to 2026-01-14 |
| $22.52 | Resistance | 5.9% above the last close | turned there twice · 2025-03-13 to 2025-09-05 |
| $22.98 | Resistance | 8.1% above the last close | turned there twice · 2025-04-07 to 2025-09-22 |
| $23.55 | Resistance | 10.8% above the last close | turned there twice · 2025-04-25 to 2026-08-07 |
| $18.92 | Support | 11.0% below the last close | turned there four times · 2025-10-17 to 2026-02-10 |
| $16.48 | Support | 22.5% below the last close | turned there three times · 2025-10-29 to 2026-02-03 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a five-part upward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now complete.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes above $23.59.
It is the only labelling that fits these swings, though its proportions are not the textbook ones. It was chosen from 3 labellings that survived the rules, counting shorter readings of the same bars.
This reading has stood for 7 trading days, since 2026-08-14.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-08-24.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading above the 200-day moving average · Recent golden cross (50-day crossed above 200-day) · Tested and reclaimed 200-day support · in a strong, established uptrend (ADX) · Analyst price target recently RAISED · beating the market | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-08-24. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingHold (2.75 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 4 analysts
- Mean price target$21.25 range $20.00 – $24.00; median $20.50
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-08-19. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for CLW
- Consensus EPS estimate-$0.1433 next reporting period, as of 2026-08-19
Change over time is not available yet: it needs two readings of the same reporting period at least 30 days apart, and we have been recording these estimates since 2026-08-04. An estimate for a DIFFERENT quarter is not a revision, so a reading from before the last report is never compared with one after it.
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["operating losses and volatility in financial performance","significant debt obligations","sensitivity to commodity price fluctuations and operational costs"]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of CLW's 10-Q filed 2026-04-28 against the prior one filed 2025-10-28.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Reworded:
- Reference year changed from 'December 31, 2024' (filed 2025-10-28) to 'December 31, 2025' (filed 2026-04-28)
- Notes:
- Both texts appear truncated and incomplete (end mid-sentence with incomplete heading reference)
- Only the opening boilerplate paragraph is available for comparison; substantive MD&A content is not provided
Risk Factors
- Added:
- Newer filing (2026-04-28) includes consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025
- Newer filing includes Q1 2026 consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, cash flows, and stockholders' equity
- Newer filing shows 'Goodwill and intangible assets, net' line item removed from balance sheet (was $2.7M in Sept 2025 older filing)
- Newer filing Q1 2026 cash flows show capital expenditures of $6.9M not yet paid
- Newer filing stockholders' equity statement includes pension and other postretirement employee benefits adjustment of $0.6M in Q1 2026
- Removed:
- Older filing (2025-10-28) included goodwill and intangible assets line of $2.7M as of Sept 30, 2025 and $52.9M as of Dec 31, 2024, not shown in newer filing
- Older filing included nine-month comparative statements of operations and cash flows; newer filing presents only quarterly Q1 data
- Older filing included goodwill impairment charge of $48.0M in Q3 2025 and nine months 2025, not applicable in newer Q1 2026 period
- Reworded:
- Newer filing balance sheet caption changed from 'September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024' to 'March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025'
- Older filing consolidated statements of comprehensive income caption states 'Amortization of actuarial gain (loss)'; newer filing states 'Amortization of actuarial loss'
- Cash flow statement supplemental disclosure for capital expenditures: older filing shows $11.8M and $25.5M not paid; newer filing shows $6.9M and $16.6M not paid
- Notes:
- The two filings represent different reporting periods (Q1 2026 vs Q3 2025) and are not directly comparable as same-period comparisons
- Older filing includes nine-month and quarterly data; newer filing presents only quarterly Q1 data, limiting direct period-to-period analysis
- Goodwill impairment of $48.0M in older Q3 2025 reflects a non-recurring charge that does not recur in newer Q1 2026 period
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
No open-market insider purchases or sales are on record for CLW — recent Form 4 activity was compensation-related (awards, option exercises, or tax withholding), not open-market buying or selling.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsOnly open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
Institutional ownership (13F)
5 institutional 13F filers reported holding CLW as of 2026-03-31 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 5
- Reported shares held 1,909,464
- Reported value $27,458,094
reported quarterly holdings change (2025-12-31 → 2026-03-31): 0 new, 2 increased, 3 decreased, 0 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Short interest (FINRA)
CLW had 623,850 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
CLW had 3.87% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-07-31 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 2.23 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 623,850
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 3.87%
- Prior settlement (shares) 783,480
- Reported change -20.37%
- Days to cover (reported) 2.23
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-07-31 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Georgia-Pacific
- Procter & Gamble (PG)
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB)
- Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK)
- WestRock (WRK)
- International Paper (IP)
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
Compare CLW vs…
Frequently asked questions
What does CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) do?
Clearwater Paper Corporation produces private label tissue products, paperboard, and pulp. The company serves retail grocery, mass merchant, and wholesale customers with tissue products and provides paperboard packaging solutions for the food and beverage industry.
What sector is CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) in?
CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) is classified in the Materials sector. Its industry is paper products and packaging. It trades on NYSE.
Who are CLEARWATER PAPER CORP's (CLW) competitors?
Notable peers of CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) include Georgia-Pacific, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Graphic Packaging Holding and WestRock. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Is CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) overbought or oversold right now?
CLEARWATER PAPER CORP (CLW) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-08-24). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on CLW come from?
Fundamentals and prices come from market data, as of 2026-08-24; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: market data, as of 2026-08-24. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-08-24.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.