Clearfield’s (CLFD) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $36.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 26.49% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Roth Mkm lowered their price target on shares of Clearfield from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

Clearfield Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of CLFD traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.46. 159,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 207,595. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.89. The company has a market capitalization of $418.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71 and a beta of 1.32. Clearfield has a 12 month low of $22.91 and a 12 month high of $50.82.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $34.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.88 million. Clearfield had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 4.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 60.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Clearfield will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.62 per share, for a total transaction of $59,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,259,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,315,157.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clearfield in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 134.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the first quarter worth $55,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Clearfield in the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.