Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Could I get your take on Orchids Paper Products? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Orchids Paper Products Co., $29.08, symbol TIS on New York (Shares outstanding: 10.3 million; Market cap: $298.2 million; www.orchidspaper.com), makes a variety of private label tissue products, including paper towels, napkins and bathroom tissue. It mainly sells these items through small discount retailers and dollar store chains (Dollar General is its largest customer). Other buyers include companies in the janitorial and restaurant industries and other paper-product makers. Orchids focuses on markets within 500 miles of its main plant in Oklahoma. That keeps its delivery costs low and helps it compete in what is a very price-sensitive market. Through an alliance with a Mexican tissue maker, it also distributes products in the western U.S. The company is now building a second plant in South Carolina. This $127-million facility should start up in early 2016. Orchids recently sold 1.5 million shares at $23.00 each to raise $34.5 million to help pay for the plant’s construction. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s…