Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Downgraded to "Market Perform" Rating by Northland Securities

Key Points

• Clearfield was downgraded by Northland Securities from "outperform" to "market perform," with a new price target of $45, indicating a potential upside of 30.33% from its current price.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $0.11 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.05, with revenues of $49.90 million exceeding expectations.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in Clearfield, with notable raises including PNC Financial Services boosting their stake by 2,710.6% during the first quarter.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Northland Securities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $45.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider's stock. Northland Securities' price objective points to a potential upside of 37.24% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Clearfield in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Clearfield from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Clearfield presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.50.

Clearfield Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CLFD traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $32.79. 429,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,742. Clearfield has a 1-year low of $23.78 and a 1-year high of $46.76. The company has a market capitalization of $453.49 million, a PE ratio of 3,279.00 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.49 and a 200 day moving average of $35.34.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.06. Clearfield had a net margin of 0.11% and a return on equity of 0.07%. The company had revenue of $49.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.58 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Clearfield will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 770.2% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 176,304 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 156,044 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Clearfield in the 4th quarter valued at $1,594,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Clearfield by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 322,378 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,994,000 after purchasing an additional 48,730 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Clearfield in the 4th quarter valued at $1,311,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Clearfield in the 1st quarter valued at $1,016,000. Hedge funds and other 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.