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 note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of Clearfield stock opened at $33.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $474.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.08 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 9.43 and a quick ratio of 6.69. Clearfield has a 12 month low of $24.78 and a 12 month high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. The firm had revenue of $46.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. Clearfield’s quarterly revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Clearfield will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought 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 $39,270,676. This trade represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CLFD. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Clearfield in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,801,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Clearfield by 83.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,173 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,798,000 after purchasing an additional 103,648 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased 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 valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,670 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 12.2% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,704,000 after buying an additional 27,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearfield during the third quarter worth approximately $578,000. Institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

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.