Clearfield’s (CLFD) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Clearfield from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of Clearfield stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $491.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.16 and a beta of 1.28. Clearfield has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $44.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.85. The company has a current ratio of 9.43, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 3.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,266,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CLFD. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the third quarter worth approximately $80,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 8.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the second quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clearfield Company Profile

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.