StockNews.com Downgrades Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) to Sell

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

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

Clearfield Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CLFD stock opened at $34.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 6.69 and a current ratio of 9.43. The company has a market capitalization of $492.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.58 and a beta of 1.27. Clearfield has a 52-week low of $24.78 and a 52-week high of $44.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.08.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. Clearfield’s revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 27,178 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Clearfield by 83.2% in the 2nd 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. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,801,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 54,670 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.73% of the company’s stock.

About Clearfield

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.