Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Upgraded to Outperform at Northland Securities

Northland Securities upgraded shares of Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $40.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $25.00.

CLFD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm restated a buy rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Clearfield from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Clearfield Stock Performance

Shares of CLFD stock traded up $4.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.13. 687,406 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,067. Clearfield has a 1 year low of $22.91 and a 1 year high of $50.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.81 and its 200 day moving average is $28.09.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 1.06% and a negative net margin of 1.79%. The company had revenue of $36.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 43.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clearfield will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 $37,315,157.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clearfield

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CLFD. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Clearfield by 134.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 109.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,721 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Clearfield by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. 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.