Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $31.91, but opened at $39.90. Clearfield shares last traded at $36.87, with a volume of 284,385 shares trading hands.

The communications equipment provider reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $36.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.25 million. Clearfield had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 4.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 43.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CLFD. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Clearfield from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Clearfield in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Securities raised shares of Clearfield from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clearfield has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clearfield

In other Clearfield news, Chairman Ronald G. Roth bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.62 per share, for a total transaction of $59,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,259,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,315,157.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clearfield

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLFD. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clearfield during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Clearfield by 134.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,130 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clearfield by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Clearfield by 109.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,721 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Clearfield by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.73% of the company's stock.

Clearfield Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $531.36 million, a PE ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.09.

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.