Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New Investment in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD)

Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,505 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $703,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.16% of Clearfield at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in Clearfield by 164.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,971 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 54,670 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clearfield by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Drum Hill Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,539,000. Skylands Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Clearfield in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $645,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Clearfield during the 4th quarter worth approximately $721,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLFD shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Clearfield from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clearfield has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John P. Hill sold 16,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.26, for a total transaction of $550,087.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 189,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,315,608.36. This represents a 8.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 17.80% of the company's stock.

Clearfield Stock Up 7.8%

NASDAQ:CLFD traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.31. 315,259 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 120,825. Clearfield, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.78 and a fifty-two week high of $44.83. The company has a market capitalization of $484.87 million, a PE ratio of -54.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 10.57, a quick ratio of 7.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.87.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.28. Clearfield had a negative net margin of 5.41% and a negative return on equity of 3.31%. The firm had revenue of $47.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.53 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.