D.A. Davidson Reiterates Buy, Raises Price Target On Clearwater Paper On Asset Sales

In a report published Thursday, D.A. Davidson analyst Steven Chercover reiterated a Buy rating on Clearwater Paper Corp. (NYSE: CLW), and raised the price target from $85.00 to $89.00.In the report, D.A. Davidson noted, "Q4-14 operating earnings of $0.77 compare to earnings of $1.09 in Q4-13 and earnings of $1.28 last quarter. The results fell $0.15 short of our $0.92 estimate, while EBITDA (which we believe is a more important metric due to the small share count) of $55 million was $5 million below estimates. On a GAAP basis, Clearwater posted a Q4-14 loss of $1.39 and a full year loss of $0.11, as compared to earnings of $3.87 and $4.80 in Q4-13 and FY-13 – none of which we believe are indicative of earnings power. The significant variance between GAAP and operating numbers was associated with asset dispositions (which we applaud), while 2013 enjoyed benefits from alternative fuel tax credits."Clearwater Paper closed on Wednesday at $73.76.