Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $50.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

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

Clearfield Price Performance

Clearfield stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 9.43, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $491.02 million, a P/E ratio of -40.88 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.07 and a 200-day moving average of $35.94. Clearfield has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 7.47% and a negative return on equity of 4.41%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -0.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In other news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 17.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Clearfield by 164.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,971 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,670 shares during the last quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 4th quarter worth about $1,539,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 27,178 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter valued at about $721,000. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth about $645,000. 88.73% of the stock is owned by 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.