Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Shares Up 6.5% - Should You Buy?

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $36.92 and last traded at $37.00. 64,876 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 115,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CLFD. StockNews.com cut Clearfield from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Clearfield in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clearfield presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.75.

Clearfield Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $503.03 million, a P/E ratio of -41.88 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.70 and a 200 day moving average of $35.96.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative return on equity of 4.41% and a negative net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $46.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In related news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.00 per share, with a total value of $155,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,266,796 shares in the company, valued at $39,270,676. This represents a 0.40 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 17.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Clearfield by 12.2% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 249,087 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,704,000 after purchasing an additional 27,178 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 83.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 228,173 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $8,798,000 after buying an additional 103,648 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Clearfield by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 98,599 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,841,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.