Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Earns "Buy" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 price target on the communications equipment provider's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 46.61% from the stock's current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Clearfield from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.75.

Clearfield Stock Down 1.2 %

CLFD stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 82,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,194. The company has a market capitalization of $481.90 million, a PE ratio of -54.20 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.78. The company has a quick ratio of 6.69, a current ratio of 9.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Clearfield has a 12 month low of $27.06 and a 12 month high of $44.83.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.13. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 3.29%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $155,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clearfield in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Clearfield by 8.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,641 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the third quarter worth approximately $300,000. Creative Planning raised its stake 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 valued at $3,841,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,632 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.