Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities raised shares of Clearfield from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Clearfield from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Roth Mkm dropped their target price on shares of Clearfield from $50.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Lake Street Capital cut their price target on Clearfield from $52.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Clearfield Stock Down 1.0%

CLFD stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.10. The company had a trading volume of 6,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,387. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.72. Clearfield has a 12 month low of $23.78 and a 12 month high of $46.76. The stock has a market cap of $430.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.50 and a beta of 1.94.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $34.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.77 million. Clearfield had a positive return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 3.93%.Clearfield has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.480-0.620 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.100–0.020 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Clearfield announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 25th that allows the company to buyback $85.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the communications equipment provider to reacquire up to 22% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.06 per share, with a total value of $300,600.00. Following the purchase, the chairman owned 1,279,264 shares in the company, valued at $38,454,675.84. This trade represents a 0.79% 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. Corporate insiders own 17.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its stake in Clearfield by 1,705.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 479,741 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $16,493,000 after purchasing an additional 453,173 shares during the period. G2 Investment Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the second quarter valued at about $10,022,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 445.2% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 179,640 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,176,000 after purchasing an additional 146,690 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Clearfield by 286.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 156,014 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,364,000 after buying an additional 115,626 shares during the period. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 48.4% during the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 262,610 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,029,000 after buying an additional 85,610 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc (NASDAQ: CLFD) is a Minneapolis-based company specializing in fiber management products for broadband network deployments. The company’s core offerings include fiber distribution hubs, enclosures, splice trays, patching panels and connectivity accessories designed to simplify installation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks. Clearfield’s modular FieldSmart™ platform provides a scalable approach for service providers, utilities and enterprise organizations looking to expand or upgrade their fiber infrastructure.

Clearfield serves a diverse customer base that includes cable and internet service providers, telecommunications operators, wireless carriers, utilities and municipalities.