International Paper (IP) Competitors

Clearwater Paper (NYSE:CLW) and International Paper (NYSE:IP) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, risk, community ranking, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Which has more risk and volatility, CLW or IP?

Clearwater Paper has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Paper has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CLW or IP?

International Paper received 313 more outperform votes than Clearwater Paper when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.29% of users gave International Paper an outperform vote while only 61.76% of users gave Clearwater Paper an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Clearwater Paper	Outperform Votes 407 61.76%	Underperform Votes 252 38.24%
International Paper	Outperform Votes 720 64.29%	Underperform Votes 400 35.71%

Does the media prefer CLW or IP?

In the previous week, International Paper had 14 more articles in the media than Clearwater Paper. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for International Paper and 21 mentions for Clearwater Paper. International Paper's average media sentiment score of 0.66 beat Clearwater Paper's score of 0.28 indicating that International Paper is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Clearwater Paper	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
International Paper	13 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in CLW or IP?

90.0% of Clearwater Paper shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of International Paper shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Clearwater Paper shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of International Paper shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CLW or IP more profitable?

International Paper has a net margin of 2.25% compared to Clearwater Paper's net margin of 0.74%. International Paper's return on equity of 6.49% beat Clearwater Paper's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clearwater Paper	0.74%	4.34%	1.50%
International Paper	2.25%	6.49%	2.37%

Do analysts prefer CLW or IP?

Clearwater Paper currently has a consensus price target of $37.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.41%. International Paper has a consensus price target of $51.96, indicating a potential downside of 11.10%. Given Clearwater Paper's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Clearwater Paper is more favorable than International Paper.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clearwater Paper	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
International Paper	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, CLW or IP?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clearwater Paper	$2.08B	0.23	$107.80M	$0.86	33.77
International Paper	$18.92B	1.07	$288M	$1.17	49.96

Summary

International Paper beats Clearwater Paper on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.