Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Clearfield, Inc. $CLFD

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Clearfield, Inc. by 30.9%, selling 79,000 shares and retaining 177,000 shares worth approximately $5.26 million.
• The stock's performance shows a 52-week range between $23.78 and $46.76, with Clearfield reporting quarterly earnings of $0.11 per share, surpassing estimates.
• Several research firms adjusted their ratings on Clearfield, with Northland Capital downgrading it from "strong-buy" to "hold," while Roth Capital maintained a "buy" rating.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 79,000 shares during the period. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned 1.25% of Clearfield worth $5,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 17.8% during 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 buying an additional 48,730 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Clearfield by 340.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,172 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Clearfield by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 125,677 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 10,476 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Clearfield by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,556 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Clearfield in the 4th quarter worth about $710,000. 88.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CLFD shares. Northland Capmk cut shares of Clearfield from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Clearfield in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Northland Securities cut Clearfield from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Clearfield from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clearfield currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.50.

Clearfield Trading Down 1.2%

CLFD stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.25. 77,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,056. Clearfield, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.78 and a 1 year high of $46.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,325.00 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.93.

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. Clearfield had a net margin of 0.11% and a return on equity of 0.07%. The business had revenue of $49.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $47.58 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Clearfield, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current 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.