Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Clearfield has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Price Performance

CLFD opened at $34.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 9.43 and a quick ratio of 6.69. The firm has a market cap of $487.63 million, a PE ratio of -54.78 and a beta of 1.28. Clearfield has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 3.29% and a negative net margin of 5.41%. Sell-side analysts predict that Clearfield will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Clearfield by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 478,809 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,843,000 after purchasing an additional 14,464 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 12.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 27,178 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 0.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,599 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,841,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 164.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,971 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 54,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,539,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.