Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clearfield currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Clearfield stock opened at $30.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $437.42 million, a PE ratio of -36.01 and a beta of 1.28. Clearfield has a twelve month low of $24.78 and a twelve month high of $44.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.16. The company has a quick ratio of 6.69, a current ratio of 9.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $46.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.95 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 8.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 2.7% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 15,503 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 7.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,536 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 0.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 6.5% during the third quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 12,220 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc manufactures and sells various fiber connectivity products in the United States and internationally. The company offers FieldSmart, a series of panels, cabinets, wall boxes, and other enclosures; WaveSmart, an optical components integrated for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for integration within its fiber management platform; and active cabinet products.