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

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

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CLFD traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 80,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,684. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.19. Clearfield has a 52 week low of $24.78 and a 52 week high of $44.83. The company has a market capitalization of $474.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.08 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $46.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.95 million. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. Clearfield’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at $39,270,676. The trade was a 0.40 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clearfield

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Clearfield by 0.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Bard Associates Inc. grew its stake in Clearfield by 6.5% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 2.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,062 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other 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.